Portland still trying to trade Rudy Fernandez, at least his agent thinks so

Rudy Fernandez has gone where Chris Paul can’t -- he has basically demanded a trade. The man wants out of Portland and away from Nate McMillan as fast as he can. Fernandez wants the ball in his hands, he envisions himself to be a playmaker. Portland already has those and McMillan just wants him to shoot. That makes Rudy sad.

New Portland General Manager Rich Cho is listening to offers. Can you blame him -- who wouldn’t want to make a trade when you just get the power to green light one? But you’re going to have to wow Cho, his first trade will not be crap, as he told Jason Quick of the Oregonian.

“I’ve spoken to Andy and I’m aware of Rudy’s feelings,” Cho said. “But at the end of the day we are going to make the best decision for the franchise.”

Boston, Chicago and New York are all in the running for Fernandez, at least that’s what his agent, Andy Miller. However, he is an agent whose client wants to be on the move, so find yourself a salt flat before swallowing anything he says.

But there is interest, and those three teams make some sense.

Chicago could slide him right in at the two, where they had pictured JJ Redick would go. Of course, Redick is primarily a shooter and Rose is the guy making the plays with the ball in his hands, but Rudy wants out and Chicago is out. Chicago has been offering James Johnson to anyone and everyone this offseason, but Johnson and a pick may not be the best deal Cho will hear.

Boston has interest and they certainly could use depth and playmakers coming off the bench. But what are they going to offer? Rasheed Wallace and pick that likely will be near the bottom of the draft? Not thrilling either.

On the court, New York might be the best fit -- Fernandez would fit well in Mike D’Antoni’s system and he gets to set up plays. The question is what would the Knicks offer to go with what could be a nice pick? Toney Douglas? That would certainly be an upgrade for the Knicks (as much as they like Douglas, who has real potential). Just a guess. But the Knicks have a roster of options, and more than one player could be involved.

Bottom line, there is some smoke. That smoke could become a real fire in the next 48 hours. Or Rudy could sulk on the Portland bench all next season. Which would make Rudy sad. And does anybody want to see that?