Rudy Fernandez, the Spanish player traded by the Portland Trail Blazers to the NBA champion Dallas Mavericks 10 days ago, has an offer from Real Madrid for a six-year deal worth more than $25 million, reports Mundo Deportiva (via Eye on Basketball) The deal would be the most lucrative in the history of Spain's ACB, the top league outside of the NBA. It'd also be more than what Fernandez would likely make on his second contract in the NBA.
Rudy Fernandez Offered Six-Year Deal By Real Madrid; Final Season With Mavericks Could Be Hang-Up
The problem: Fernandez remains on his rookie scale contract for one more year, meaning he’ll face legal hurdles moving to Spain during the NBA lockout. Despite the lockout, players under contract with NBA teams, as Fernandez is with the Mavericks, remain so. FIBA will not allow transfers without clearance from the base league (the NBA, in this case), and it’s not believed that the NBA will provide that clearance as seeing players flock overseas would weaken the owners’ negotiating position.
The Spanish report suggests that Fernandez would play for Real Madrid until the lockout ends, return to the Mavericks for whatever is left of the 2011-12 season, and then re-commence his career with Real.
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