FanHouse Sergio Rodriguez

A lot of Kings fans, myself included, spent the 2008-09 season bemoaning the inability of Sacramento starting point guard Beno Udrih to cleanly pass the ball. But let me assure you: Beno has no problem passing the blame.

A candid, borderline cheerful Beno discussed the abominable 17-win season with Sacramento media Monday. And his opinion on what went wrong was impossible to misinterpret: blame coaches Reggie Theus and Kenny Natt.

"Sometimes last season, I didn't know if I was a small forward or a point guard," the 6'3 Udrih said. "We were definitely confused. We didn't have roles."

Just before the draft begins, DraftExpress has reported (with Sacramento Bee confirmation) Portland will send disappointing back-up point guard Sergio Rodriguez to Sacramento. In return, the teams will swap second round picks: Portland gets No. 31, Sacramento will pick No. 38.

If nothing else, the Kings come away with a Spanish point guard! (Right? Hello?) Portland adds about $1.6 million to its summer stockpile, in which the team is expected to chase a top flight point guard or small forward. The Kings desperately need depth at the point, even with three picks in tonight's draft. Sergio doesn't fit Nate McMillan's ball-control offense, but might (might!) soar under Paul Westphal.

NBA Essentials ranks our six favorite stories of the day.

1. NY Post: Alas, Stephon Marbury will not be allowed by the Knicks to practice with kids from his old High School. The NBA: Where inactive means inactive.

2. The Detroit News: Joe Dumars consoles Rip Hamilton after dealing Chauncey Billups out of town.

3. Marca.com: If you can read Spanish, then you can read about Sergio Rodriguez's agent requesting a trade for him. (via HoopsHype)

4. SLAM: Bulls' new coach Vinnie Del Negro, already clashing with a couple of his players.

5. OrlandoSentinel.com: Brian Cook: bad basketball player, worse teammate.

6. Daily News: Baron Davis, following in Damon Jones' footsteps.

Crystal Ballin' takes a team-by-team look at what should, could, and probably will happen in the June 26th NBA Draft.

Brandon Roy and his All Star self really transformed this team fast didn't he? Portland was the NBA's biggest surprise early, and despite slowing down, you best believe that everyone is going to be picking them as the "breakout" for 2008-09. So let's get it out of the way -- they're going to be good. No using them to breakout. It's cheating. Especially if Kevin Pritchard does what he normally does and dominates this draft.

Picks: #13, #33, #36, #55

Needs: Point guard. I know they have Roy and Jarrett Jack and Sergio Rodriguez and Steve Blake ... and there's a reason they have so many point guards on the roster. They need a legit true bal to put them over the top.

Best case scenario: D.J. Augustin drops past the point guard needy Pacers, Kings and Clippers. Not likely to happen.

The Blazers' future just got a little brighter today following the news that Rudy Fernandez, a first-round pick last summer, has decided to leave Europe to play in the NBA:

"They have pushed hard for me to join them and have assured me I will be an important figure for them," Fernandez said at the news conference. "It wasn't an easy decision to take but it is the time for a new challenge after a fantastic year with Joventut."

Fernandez will make about $900,000 as a rookie next year, or about half of what he could have made were he stay in Europe. As mentioned yesterday, the NBA rookie pay scale is an awfully big stumbling block for a lot of teams trying to convince their foreign draft picks to come over, but Fernandez is apparently willing to make the financial sacrifice to take on the challenge.

I'm sure the fact that Sergio Rodriguez is already on Portland's roster makes the decision even easier -- the two are teammates for Spain's national team, and even a quick search on YouTube reveals no shortage of Sergio-to-Rudy alley-oop highlights. That kind of chemistry can't be created overnight, and it won't be a surprise at all if Nate McMillan pairs those two up as much as possible.

The citizens of the greater Portland area are naturally enthused at the prospect that Rudy Fernandez, Spanish star point guard, et al, is going to join the team next year, making the Trailblazers, assuming the return of Greg Oden, one of the most dangerous young nuclei we have seen in a while. However, things may not be as stone cold-locked as they've seen, based partially on the way Nate McMillan has handled the playing time of Sergio Rodriguez, according to Rudy himself. (Note that this is from a translated interview.)

Have you spoken with Sergio Rodriguez lately?

No, I've tried calling several times but haven't been able to get in contact with him. To me, Sergio is a good player and it's very weird to me that the coach isn't showing much confidence in him. Honestly, it really scares me to think that McMillian could do the same with me.

Will you go to Portland next year?

I haven't decided yet, that's the truth. I don't know if I'll make the jump now. When the season is over we'll see what's best.

Rudy also said if Portland GM Kevin Pritchard came to visit him in Spain, he would be "very nice to him" but probably wouldn't be able to provide him an answer. I don't for any stretch of the imagination think that McMillan's job is on the line here -- Portland was the first half shocker in terms of overachieving teams. But at the same time, this is the team that Pritchard hand crafted. And they're a legitimate point guard (Brandon Roy at two, and all apologies to Jarrett Jack) and the health of their octogeneric big man away from contending, so I gotta think either McMillan plays ball with their foreign investment. Either way, something will have to give, and one would think Pritchard is tired of coming up on the short end of the stick with relation to these point guard transactions.

From the moment the Blazers won the lottery, it seems everyone has been talking about how Portland can trade Zach Randolph, opening the door for a LaMarcus Aldridge/Greg Oden front line. Randolph knows this ... and he doesn't sound terribly distraught. He discussed the rumors in an interview with The Oregonian's Jason Quick:

"Been hearing a lot of stuff," Randolph said Tuesday from his recently purchased home in Indianapolis. "A lot of stuff." [...]

"I want to be a part of this here in Portland," Randolph said. "If not, I understand. I've been in this league for six years, and I know it's a business, so I can't take anything personal."

Blazers GM Kevin Pritchard denies shopping Randolph around the league, but that hasn't stopped Randolph from thinking about where he'd like to wind up:

Randolph, who grew up in Marion, Ind., seems most interested in the rumors surrounding Chicago, as he often brings up the Bulls. "I'd like the chance to compete for a championship, and if I was able to be with the Bulls, I think I would be able to compete for a championship."

Randolph will make $13.3 million next year, so it'd take some awfully creative accounting (and maybe even a third team) for this to happen. Even then, it's probably impossible. While Randolph would solve Chicago's need for an inside scorer, as well as provide help for Ben Wallace on the boards, I can't figure out what players Portland would accept in return.

The Blazers are fading gently into the sunset, and promising young big man LaMarcus Aldridge was shut down early due to heart problems. But their fans have to be somewhat optimistic about next season. Brandon Roy is a shoe-in for Rookie of the Year, and there's some strong camraderie in place between Aldrige and Sergio Rodriquez, their point guard of the future.

Blazers Blog has managed to make out at least one bit of this Spanish-language interview with S-Rod:

One of the few discernible passages notes that Sergio's best friend on the team is LaMarcus Aldridge. I can attest to that. Every time LaMarcus is doing a television interview, Sergio throws something at him, usually a sock. That constitutes affection where I'm from.

Affection indeed. Though it really can't hold a candle to Baron Davis's feelings for Monta Ellis.