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Report: Rudy Fernandez leaving NBA to play in Spain

Rudy Fernandez will announce on Wednesday his decision to leave the NBA and play in his native Spain. (Glenn James/Getty Images)

Denver Nuggets v Dallas Mavericks

Rudy Fernandez, who played in 31 games for the Denver Nuggets last season, will reportedly announce on Wednesday his decision to leave the NBA to play in his native Spain, according to Kurt Helin of NBCSports.com:

Fernandez is going to announce Wednesday he has inked a deal with Real Madrid, according to reports within the Spanish press.

Fernandez played four seasons in the NBA, spending three with the Portland Trail Blazers and one with the Denver Nuggets. He showed promise early and had perhaps his best season as a rookie year when he averaged 10.4 points and 2.7 rebounds in 25 minutes per game before suffering a nagging back injury.

He set an NBA rookie record with 159 three-pointers made and was named to the NBA All-Rookie Second team. He was widely seen as one of the up-and-coming players in the NBA and competed in the 2009 Slam Dunk Contest.

But Fernandez had voiced displeasure with his playing time in Portland and was even fined $25,000 by the league in August 2010 for "public statements detrimental to the NBA," according to ESPN.com.