He knew he’d be under the rookie scale no matter what. Fernandez was different because he might have fallen to the second round and thus not under the scale.

The player’s options are limited. What happens depends on a number of factors:

    * If the player is already under contract to, or signs a contract with a non-NBA team, the team retains the player’s draft rights for one year after the player’s obligation to the non-NBA team ends. Essentially, the clock stops as long as the player plays pro ball outside the NBA. Players are not included in the team’s team salary during the regular season while the player is under contract with a non-NBA team.
    * If the player was still eligible to play in college before he was drafted, the team retains the player’s draft rights until the draft the player would have entered had he not left college early. For example, if a team drafts a college sophomore in 2005, they retain his draft rights until the date of the 2007 draft. Note that the current NCAA rules state that players lose their NCAA eligibility if they are drafted, so the player could not return or go on to play college ball.
    * For all other players, the team retains the player’s draft rights until the date of the next draft.

In any of the above cases, if the team does not sign the player in the allotted time, the player can enter the next draft. If the team that selects the player in the next draft doesn’t sign him either, he becomes a rookie free agent.

When a team signs a first round draft pick in a year other than the year in which he was drafted, the player is signed using the salary scale for the year in which he is signed, not the year in which he was drafted. An exception to this is for players drafted prior to 2005, under the previous CBA. These players may be signed according to the rules for scale contracts set forth in the previous CBA, including three guaranteed years plus one option year, at the scale salary for the year in which the player was drafted.

So, he can go back to Spain to finish the next two years on his contract. Sit out aand not play for anyone for a year. Then come back to be re-drafted. If no one drafts him then, he can sign with any team he wants.

Or he can demand a trade.

when you factor in that his rookie scale contract has him at 3 years and $10,542,960. After you take out the buyout (which I’m guessing might need to be paid all together?) he’s at 3 years $4.5M.

I’m not sure how this will play out, but unless he can make it up in endorsements (not as likely in MIN as in NY) then I’m betting he’s staying in Spain.

I wonder what his buyout is next year or is it always $6M for him?

Sometimes I think they seriously find the 30 dumbest guys in the world to be GMs. The team had 4 picks in the first round, and still messed it up!! Not to mention they were 4 picks in a generally agreed upon weak draft. They couldn’t turn any of those later picks into a mid 1st rounder next year?