Rudy Fernandez took substantially less money to come to Portland and fulfill his dream of playing in the NBA, according to HoopsWorld.

"My dream has been to play in the NBA and Portland has given me this opportunity," Fernandez said. "I want to help the team.  I'm not nervous because this is my dream to play in the NBA."

He'll earn the rookie salary of roughly $900,000 next season, which is reportedly a small figure compared to what he would have earned had he remained in Europe.

"We knew for a fact that he had many other offers in Europe at much bigger dollars, more years, and more fanfare," Portland General Manager Kevin Pritchard said. "But the thing that makes us excited is he is a competitor and when he steps out on the floor he has a special ability that he makes everyone on the floor better. That's a little bit of a clich?, but he's been able to take a team - Joventut - and take them far every year, and he's done it from a very young age."