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| Rudy Fernandez will require back surgery and miss the rest of the season. (Getty Images) |
Fernandez was acquired from Dallas who yanked him away from Portland in a three-way deal that sent Andrew Miller to Denver along with Jordan Hamilton, selected with the Mavericks' first-round pick. The Mavericks then sent Fernandez to Dallas for a 2nd round pick.
Fernandez has been a quality reserve wing for Denver this year, especially with the injuries Danilo Gallinari has dealt with. He's averaged 14 points per 36 minutes along with 4 rebounds, and has been aggressive in creating plays. And now he's done for the year.
Fernandez' injury is just one of several the Nuggets are dealing with, as Gallinari could miss up to four weeks with a fractured thumb, and Ty Lawson and Andre Miller have both dealt with injuries. The impact of the loss of Fernandez is lessened by the addition of restricted free agent Wilson Chandler for Denver, who signed the athletic wing fresh off his lockout stint in China to a five-year deal earlier in the week.
The other obvious impact of Fernandez' injury is on the 2012 Olympic Basketball competition as Spain will now be without Fernandez and Ricky Rubio, who will miss the rest of the year and Olympics with a torn ACL. That's two significant contributors to Spain's silver medal run in 2008 on the shelf. Bad break for all involved.
