Rudy Fernandez spoke candidly about his strong desire to leave the NBA and return to Europe.

"I don't want a trade, I prefer to go home with my family and play in Europe," said Fernandez, who, through his agent, requested a trade earlier this summer. "I don't want to hear about New York or about Chicago. I want to hear (I'm going) back to Europe."

Greg Oden is unsure when he will be ready to play and how many games he will appear in during the 10-11 season.

"That's a hard question because I don't know when I'm going to be back," he said.

Oden has until Oct. 31 to sign an extension or he would become a restricted free agent at the end of the season. Asked the status of that negotiation, he deflected the answer.

"That's something you have to talk to Rich and my agent about," he said. "That's something I'm not even going to talk about. I've got to get back out there on the floor before those talks are going to happen."

In an interview on Sunday, Erick Dampier revealed that there are more teams pursuing him than just the Bucks and Rockets.

"I've talked to Milwaukee, Toronto, Portland, and one other team," he said after confirming talks with the Rockets as well. "There's no one in the No. 1 spot. I'm not in a rush. I just want to find the perfect fit and give myself an opportunity to compete for a championship."

The Blazers have shown interest in Carmelo Anthony and also have enough assets to offer an attractive package to the Nuggets.

But they have been unable to be a genuine player in trade talks due to Anthony's lack of interest in an extension with Portland, according to a source.

One rival executive expects Greg Oden to play fewer than 41 games this season for the Blazers.

"Every single year of his life since seventh grade, he was either injured or interrupted significantly by an injury," the exec said. "His presence is a total wild card."

Rudy Fernandez, according to a source, rejected a possible trade to New Orleans, where he could have played for former Blazers assistant Monty Williams, now the Hornets' coach.

Fernandez has been attempting to orchestrate a trade out of Portland throughout the offseason and GM Rich Cho wants to accommodate the request.

Portland, however, is mostly receiving offers of draft picks in return from teams that project to draft in the 20s, such as the Bulls and Celtics.

Trail Blazers owner Paul Allen says a test this week showed he is free of cancer.

Allen's diagnosis of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma was made public in November 2009.

He battled Hodgkin's lymphoma more than 20 years ago.

Kerry Eggers of the Portland Tribune writes that the Trail Blazers may be getting closer to trading swingman Rudy Fernandez.

Portland general manager Rich Cho is working to accommodate Fernandez's trade request behind the scenes.

"The first-year GM has some options, and I'm getting the feeling he might pull the trigger on something before camp," Eggers wrote.

Greg Oden has not been cleared to participate in five-on-five scrimmages this week.

It was rumored that Oden might join his Portland teammates on the court in a series of informal scrimmages at the team's training facility.

Oden is coming along well in his rehabilitation from breaking his patella in November, but he isn't ready to play basketball.

"We're going to ease him into it ... maybe do some two-on-two or three-on-three, instead of up-and down five-on-five," Portland general manager Rich Cho said. "I'm hoping he'll be cleared to do that in the next couple of weeks."

ate McMillan is preparing to have Rudy Fernandez in training camp.

Fernandez is looking for a trade and was fined $25,000 by the NBA for the public comments made earlier this offseason.

"He's a great player," McMillan said. "He's a good player. A talented player. Very talented."

"He is in my notes for training camp. All right," the coach said when pressed for more.

Through his agent, Andy Miller, Fernandez told The Oregonian two weeks ago he intends to not report to training camp even though he has two years left on his contract.