SB Nation
  • Google+

SB Nation Dallas

Stay connected for news and updates

Rudy Fernandez Rejects Real Madrid Offer

The sharpshooting swingman will honor his contract with Dallas rather than seeking a return to Spain.

  • Live
8 Total Updates since June 23, 2011
  • Updates 6
  • Articles 2
  • All Updates 8

Marca Report: Rudy Fernandez Says No To Real Madrid

Popular Spanish site Marca.com reports that Rudy Fernandez has told Real Madrid that he will not accept their six-year offer to join them during the lockout, return to Dallas for the rest of the 2011-12 season once the lockout is over, then move to Real for the remaining five years.

Fernandez wants to play his season in Dallas and then review his options, which is exactly what Donnie Nelson and the Mavericks hope he will do. Nelson has said that he expects Fernandez to fit well into Dallas’ ball-moving offense and that he sees him taking on a ball-handling role.

The report says that Real will try to improve their struggling team in other ways, while waiting to see what happens with the NBA lockout and Rudy’s time in Dallas, but for once they aren’t the baddest boys on the block. While Rudy prefers the European style, the ACB is still second tier. And while the offer to come to Madrid is earth shattering in basketball terms in Europe, it’s role-player money in the NBA. Meanwhile, the Mavericks are the best team in the world.

Continue

Some Thoughts On Real Madrid Tempting Rudy Fernandez With A Long Term Deal

Real Madrid will tempt Rudy Fernandez with a six-year contract that would bring him home to Spain for five years after the 2011-2012 season.

Continue

2011 NBA Draft Grades: Mavericks Receive C- From SB Nation

Continue

NBA Draft Grades: ESPN Gives Dallas An A-

The Dallas Mavericks didn't make a selection at all on Thursday night in the 2011 NBA Draft, yet, still received a high grade from ESPN's Chad Ford for their draft day antics. Ford gave the Mavericks an A- (Insider) for their draft, despite not keeping a draft pick.

Dallas traded both their first and second round selections in order to acquire former Portland Trail Blazer Rudy Fernandez and Petteri Kopenen. While Fernandez only has a year remaining on his contract, he'll be much more of an asset in the immediate future than any player available at No. 26 overall. 

That player selected at No. 26 is Jordan Hamilton, who is now currently a Denver Nugget after the three-team trade between Portland, Dallas and Denver. The former Texas Longhorn is the second-first round player that the Nuggets picked up on Thursday, as they drafted Kenneth Faried at No. 22 overall. 

All in all, though, not a bad little haul for the Mavericks with Fernandez and Kopenen - especially considering that this was a weak draft and that the Mavericks weren't drafting until late in the first and second rounds.

Continue

NBA Draft 2011: Mavericks See Value In Rudy Fernandez

The Mavericks went the route of young veteran over newly drafted players Thursday when they dealt their first (No. 26 overall) and second (No. 57 overall) round picks for Rudy Fernandez and Virtus Bologna's combo guard Petteri Koponen. With six impending free agents and four unproven prospects on Dallas' championship roster, the Mavericks liked the opportunity to plug in a more established guard in Fernandez.

Donnie Nelson said in multiple interviews that he sees Fernandez as someone who can add offensive elements for Dallas and who can provide a longer contrast at the two position to Jason Terry. He said that the club won't be bringing Koponen in for the 2011-12 season, but that he and Nick Calathes can the Mavs' summer league team in 2012 and show whether the club should bring them over.

Tim McMahon notes that Mark Cuban's statistical guru(s) regard Fernandez as one of the premier advanced plus/minus players in the league. 

According to Cuban's calculations, Rudy Fernandez ranks among the NBA's top 20 players in advanced plus-minus. That made him a long-time Mavs target.

"He's a guy that we've had our eye on for a while," Donnie Nelson said, "and it was just kind of right place, right time."

That adds up to what the Mavericks perceive as a value deal for a young player who might just be their starting shooting guard. 

Continue

2011 NBA Draft Result: Mavericks Select Longhorn Jordan Hamilton, Trade Him For Rudy Fernandez

Mavericks GM Donnie Nelson said early on Thursday that he expected his club to sit at their No. 26 slot and see who might fall. Jordan Hamilton fell to that spot, but Nelson dealt his rights and the Mavericks' second round pick to Portland for backup guard Rudy Fernandez and 2007 first rounder Petteri Kopenen.

Fernandez has one year and a qualifier on his contract and figures to provide cover in the event of the possible departures of J.J. Barea, DeShawn Stevenson and Caron Butler.

Continue

2011 NBA Draft Order

The 2011 NBA Draft gets underway tonight in Newark, New Jersey on Thursday night, just over a week after the Dallas Mavericks were crowned NBA Champions for the first time in franchise history. The Mavericks will be drafting No. 26 overall in the first round, so they're not terribly likely to add an impact caliber talent barring some sort of miracle. Still, the draft is an exciting time for NBA fans - and it might be the last time we have an NBA related event for awhile with the lockout looming large. Anyway, the draft order in the first round is follows, thanks to SB Nation's NBA Draft center:

1. Cavaliers
2. Timberwolves
3. Jazz
4. Cavaliers
5. Raptors
6. Wizards
7. Kings
8. Pistons
9. Bobcats
10. Bucks
11. Warriors
12. Jazz
13. Suns
14. Rockets
15. Pacers
16. 76ers
17. Knicks
18. Wizards
19. Bobcats
20. Timberwolves
21. Trail Blazers
22. Nuggets
23. Rockets
24. Thunder
25. Celtics
26. Mavericks
27. Net
28. Bulls
29. Spurs
30. Bulls

For more on the NBA Draft, be sure to check out SB Nation's NBA Draft Central linked above. The draft is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. ET.

Continue

2011 NBA Draft Set For Thursday Night

The Dallas Mavericks brass has little time to celebrate their first ever NBA championship. Just over a week after defeating the Miami Heat in six games to win the 2011 NBA championship, the Dallas Mavericks will be partaking in the 2011 NBA draft which is set to begin on Thursday night.

The Mavericks' first pick is No. 26 overall in the first round. Needless to say, whoever Dallas ends up taking will likely be a work in progress and not somebody expected to contribute in the immediate future to the team. 

Dallas' other pick comes late in the second round at No. 57 overall, in between a pair of Los Angeles Lakers picks. The selection will be the fourth to last pick in the draft, so if you're watching it, you might as well stick it out to see who the Sacramento Kings take with No. 60 overall to end the draft. 

The two round draft will begin at 7 p.m. ET on Thursday, June 23. The draft is held in Newark, New Jersey and televised coverage can be found on ESPN and ESPN3.com.

Continue

Photographs by jamesbrandon, jdtornow, phlezk, flygraphix, mcdlttx, tomasland, and literalbarrage used in background montage under Creative Commons. Thank you.