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Just heard on the radio they shipped a couple of draft picks to Portland for Rudy Fernandez.
Just searched online and found the story to back it up:
DALLAS -- Feeling the need to add pieces that could help them repeat as NBA champions, the Dallas Mavericks aggressively traded their two draft picks on Thursday so they could receive some immediate help.
In a three-team trade, the Mavs traded Texas small forward Jordan Hamilton, and Qatar power forward Tanguy Ngombo to Portland for Trail Blazers small forward Rudy Fernandez and point guard Petteri Koponen. The Blazers then got Denver Nuggets point guard Raymond Felton, while the Nuggets received Portland point guard Andre Miller and a second-round pick from the Blazers.
The Mavs announced that the three-team trade won't be official until today, because it involves so many twists that mustbe approved by the NBA.
Dallas used the 26th pick to draft Hamilton and acquired Ngombo with the 57th pick. But those players' draft rights were traded to Portland.
Still, Mavs general manager Donnie Nelson tried his best to dance around the fact that Dallas had acquired Fernandez and Koponen from Portland.
"We've been talking about this specific situation for quite some time and just within the last couple of days it kind of presented itself as a realistic scenario," Nelson said. "And then it was one of those draft-day trigger-type deals.
"We got youth and experience, and we kind of had an opportunity to have the cake and eat it, too, and so that's what we went with. We were looking for opportunities to trade up, to trade down, to trade over, so we were very active in this draft."
Fernandez, 26, averaged 8.6 points and shot 37 percent from the field in 23.3 minutes mostly off the bench for the Blazers this past season.
In his three years with Portland, Fernandez (6-6, 185) has averaged 9.1 points and shot 35.1 percent from the floor in 24.1 minutes per game.
Fernandez was taken No. 24th overall by Phoenix in the 2007 draft, but his drafts rights were immediately traded to Portland.
He has a team option for $1.2 million next season and a team option that'll pay him $2.18 million in the 2012-'13 season.
In the 2007-'08 season, Fernandez helped DKV Joventut of the Spanish ACB League win the Eurocup when he was selected he Eurocup Finals Most Valuable Player. Also, in 2006 Fernandez was chosen as the FIBA Europe Player of the Year.
Meanwhile, the 23-year old Koponen was chosen with the 30th pick -- the last selection of the first round -- by Philadelphia in the 2007 draft. His rights were quickly traded to the Blazers, yet he chose to stay and play in his native Finland.
Koponen, 6-4, 195 pounds, was one of the primary contributors for the Finnish men's 2007 summer league national team and he played this past season for Virtus Bologna.
The Mavs have six free agents -- center Tyson Chandler, guards J.J. Barea and DeShawn Stevenson, small forwards Caron Butler and Peja Stojakovic, and power forward/small small Brian Cardinal. How this affects their standing with the Mavs remains to be seen, although the acquisition of Fernandez could make Stevenson or Butler expendable.
"I don't think it has a major effect," Nelson said. "But again, it is a roster spot, whether the guy is a veteran or whether he's a rookie coming in as a first-round pick.
"It is a roster spot that either way would have been taken up."
Nelson said the "A'' situation they wanted to happen for them Thursday, happened.
"The balance is again a player that's a young one versus one that's been around the league a few years and can help us right away," Nelson said.
"Obviously we're in a playoff championship push mode and so we think the player that we acquired [Fernandez] is going to help us a little bit more than one of the younger guys.''
Just searched online and found the story to back it up:
DALLAS -- Feeling the need to add pieces that could help them repeat as NBA champions, the Dallas Mavericks aggressively traded their two draft picks on Thursday so they could receive some immediate help.
In a three-team trade, the Mavs traded Texas small forward Jordan Hamilton, and Qatar power forward Tanguy Ngombo to Portland for Trail Blazers small forward Rudy Fernandez and point guard Petteri Koponen. The Blazers then got Denver Nuggets point guard Raymond Felton, while the Nuggets received Portland point guard Andre Miller and a second-round pick from the Blazers.
The Mavs announced that the three-team trade won't be official until today, because it involves so many twists that mustbe approved by the NBA.
Dallas used the 26th pick to draft Hamilton and acquired Ngombo with the 57th pick. But those players' draft rights were traded to Portland.
Still, Mavs general manager Donnie Nelson tried his best to dance around the fact that Dallas had acquired Fernandez and Koponen from Portland.
"We've been talking about this specific situation for quite some time and just within the last couple of days it kind of presented itself as a realistic scenario," Nelson said. "And then it was one of those draft-day trigger-type deals.
"We got youth and experience, and we kind of had an opportunity to have the cake and eat it, too, and so that's what we went with. We were looking for opportunities to trade up, to trade down, to trade over, so we were very active in this draft."
Fernandez, 26, averaged 8.6 points and shot 37 percent from the field in 23.3 minutes mostly off the bench for the Blazers this past season.
In his three years with Portland, Fernandez (6-6, 185) has averaged 9.1 points and shot 35.1 percent from the floor in 24.1 minutes per game.
Fernandez was taken No. 24th overall by Phoenix in the 2007 draft, but his drafts rights were immediately traded to Portland.
He has a team option for $1.2 million next season and a team option that'll pay him $2.18 million in the 2012-'13 season.
In the 2007-'08 season, Fernandez helped DKV Joventut of the Spanish ACB League win the Eurocup when he was selected he Eurocup Finals Most Valuable Player. Also, in 2006 Fernandez was chosen as the FIBA Europe Player of the Year.
Meanwhile, the 23-year old Koponen was chosen with the 30th pick -- the last selection of the first round -- by Philadelphia in the 2007 draft. His rights were quickly traded to the Blazers, yet he chose to stay and play in his native Finland.
Koponen, 6-4, 195 pounds, was one of the primary contributors for the Finnish men's 2007 summer league national team and he played this past season for Virtus Bologna.
The Mavs have six free agents -- center Tyson Chandler, guards J.J. Barea and DeShawn Stevenson, small forwards Caron Butler and Peja Stojakovic, and power forward/small small Brian Cardinal. How this affects their standing with the Mavs remains to be seen, although the acquisition of Fernandez could make Stevenson or Butler expendable.
"I don't think it has a major effect," Nelson said. "But again, it is a roster spot, whether the guy is a veteran or whether he's a rookie coming in as a first-round pick.
"It is a roster spot that either way would have been taken up."
Nelson said the "A'' situation they wanted to happen for them Thursday, happened.
"The balance is again a player that's a young one versus one that's been around the league a few years and can help us right away," Nelson said.
"Obviously we're in a playoff championship push mode and so we think the player that we acquired [Fernandez] is going to help us a little bit more than one of the younger guys.''
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