Bad sea in Spanish basketball. The nationalization of the American Lorenzo Brown to face Eurobasket 2022 has not gone down well in the squad and there are already several players who have shown their discomfort in public. The captain of Spain, Rudy Fernández, has explained that he found out through the media and that he is not in favor of this maneuver. Álex Abrines has also spoken out against this nationalization: “It is a lack of respect for national talent. I have nothing against Brown, I don’t want to say much more either, but I see it as a missed opportunity to pull from the quarry”, he said in statements collected by the Diario de Mallorca during the presentation of his campus in Palma.
“It doesn’t seem right to me,” said the Real Madrid player. “I have already told the president (of the Federation, Jorge Garbajosa) and as captain I had to give my opinion. It doesn’t seem right to me. I found out from the press that they had nationalized that player, who had no link with the country, and he explained it to me,” said Fernández.
The Mallorcan basketball player made these statements during a press conference to present the “Rudy Fernández Campus”, in which 200 boys and girls from all over the country will participate.
“I had the reference of having played with (Nikola) Mirotic and with (Serge) Ibaka”, added Fernández. “They are foreign players, but they have been trained in a Spanish youth academy since they were very young and in that sense they had a special bond with our country”, he declared.
“If (Lorenzo Brown) is there, we have to try to help him as much as possible because in the end he will also help us compete. But there are many Spanish players who have earned to be in that position (base-shooting guard of the national team) and in the end, perhaps they won’t have the recognition they deserve for having signed that player”, reflected the Real Madrid forward.
Fernández has also referred to the dismissal of Pablo Laso as head of the Madrid club’s bench. The coach wanted to keep his position after overcoming a heart attack, but Madrid rejected that possibility citing medical reasons.
“The club made that decision and we have to respect it. Pablo had a heart attack at the end of the season and he, perhaps, saw himself as having the possibility of continuing, but Madrid didn’t see it that way. We are club people. Madrid is Above all, whether you are a legend or not, in the end we are athletes who owe ourselves to the club”, he explained.
“I have been informed of these things by the press – he has clarified – and I have not been able to speak with Madrid or with Pablo. But the summary is that we are up to the decisions of the club, whether we like it or not. Perhaps, things could be have done otherwise, because Pablo has shown in the last two decades that he has been a benchmark in making Madrid even bigger”.
With regard to last season, in which Real Madrid was proclaimed champion of the league by defeating Barça in the title phase and was a finalist in the European Championship, Fernández stressed that the team “had the ability to get up on time”.
“Finishing the League by winning against one of the most powerful rivals in Europe is positive. The season was very tough, due to injuries and difficult moments in the game. But we were very mature when it came to facing competitions such as the League final and the Euroleague. Personally, it has been a difficult end to the season. I have tried to help my team achieve its objectives and I am happy with what I have done”, remarked Rudy Fernández.
