It’s pretty much a foregone conclusion that Rudy Fernandez won’t be in a Blazers uniform next season, and from the sound of his comments made to the Portland Tribune, he might not even be in the NBA at all: “Fernandez will do his best to help the Blazers achieve success in the playoffs. Then he’ll be gone – perhaps to play professionally in Europe next season, perhaps to another NBA team via an offseason trade. I’ve thought all season that Fernandez – a household name in his home country with the talent to be the starter on half of the teams in the NBA – wouldn’t be satisfied much longer as a backup. Now I’m convinced. The 6-5 shooting guard is mired in a bonafide slump, lonely and looking forward to a return to his native country in the offseason. ‘It’s a tough situation for me,’ Fernandez confided Monday after the Blazers’ practice session. ‘I miss my family and my friends. Yesterday was a hard day. My (25th) birthday, and I was by myself.’ A year ago, Fernandez had countryman Sergio Rodriguez as a teammate. And Rudy’s family visited a couple of times, as did his girlfriend and a coterie of friends. ‘It’s been a tough year for Rudy,’ coach Nate McMillan said. ‘He is without Sergio (now with New York), and his mother was here a little more often (last season). I’m sure that’s tough.”’
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