SI: Point Pleasant

[KingKong]

Point pleasant

Udrih's emergence at PG creates options for Kings

Posted: Wednesday December 19, 2007 11:44AM;
Updated: Wednesday December 19, 2007 6:21PM

​

Point guard Beno Udrih is thriving in his first
opportunity to start in the NBA.
​

As proof that no NBA team (short of the Minnesota Timberwolves) is far removed from playoff contention, we offer the Sacramento Kings. They climbed a few steps simply by lifting Beno Udrih from waivers last month.

It became one of those Rubik's Cube moves that brings the entire puzzle into focus. Not only did Udrih's arrival provide the Kings with a true point guard, but his ascension to the starting lineup also will make it easier for them to live without Mike Bibby should they decide to move his $13.5 million salary in a midseason trade (once Sacramento's longtime floor leader has proved he's healthy upon returning from October surgery on his left thumb). In the meantime, the whole team is running more efficiently under Udrih's guidance; through Tuesday, the Kings (10-14) had gone a respectable (9-9) with him in the lineup.

Read more at: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/ian_thomsen/12/18/kings.udrih/

 

[treewoman]

Beno has been an awesome addition!

 

[KingKong]

Is it just me or does SI love to give love to the Kings? Hey I'm not complaining, and while Beno's play definitely merits attention, I feel like they just love to talk about the Kings.

 

[SacTownKid]

Between John Salmons and Beno Udrih I think Geoff Petrie is quickly regaining a foothold as one of the best GM's in the league!

 

[HaraWish]

Is it just me or does SI love to give love to the Kings? Hey I'm not complaining, and while Beno's play definitely merits attention, I feel like they just love to talk about the Kings.

I agree with you. And I found the author is the same person of Artest article, Ian Thomsen. As we're successful, we will get more attention.

Personally, I'm waiting articles about coach Theus or about Brad Miller. IMHO they are the important keys to current success.

 

[CruzDude]

Between John Salmons and Beno Udrih I think Geoff Petrie is quickly regaining a foothold as one of the best GM's in the league!

AGAIN! This could be his 3rd MVGM.

 

[Gary]

I wouldn't go that far.. Petrie this year gave a guy named Mikki 18mil to grab 7pts 4rbds a game.. I don't mind Moore coming off the bench but his play is something that another player can produce named Williamson. Although I will give Moore credit on defense. Corliss is better offensively, and Moore is better defensively.

 

[Glenn]

Gary, would you feel better with a guy who scored 7.8 pts and 5.6 rebounds who is getting $5.356 mil this year?

 

[Troy]

I agree with you. And I found the author is the same person of Artest article, Ian Thomsen. As we're successful, we will get more attention.

Hopefully that will mean more King's games on national TV, but don't hold your breath.

I cannot stand to keep seeing the LAL listed as a Nationally televised game.

I missed the Kings win over the Bucks because I was too lazy to hit the gym that night and the TV there is hooked into Madison, WI and I would have been able to see it. Darn.


I liked Beno when he was on the Spurs and thought he'd be good for us, now with the opportunities he and Salmons are showing what they can do. Too bad Justin Williams cannot do that now as well as I see him listed as DNP for who knows how long now in the box score.

 

[Superman]

AGAIN! This could be his 3rd MVGM.

How? He added Moore as a free agent, claimed Udrih and Jones off waivers, and drafted Hawes. While the team is better than it was last season, we have exactly the same record as a year ago, we are not in a better financial situation, and we don't have a bunch of young studs that are going to help us grow into a contender.

What Ainge did in Boston is GM of the Year material. Pat Riley's moves in 2005, which led to a championship that year, were GM of the Year material. All Petrie has done is bring in some players who play hard and respond to passionate coaching. We are not a significantly better team because of those moves, and we're not in a better situation financially.

I like Udrih and Hawes. Jones won't matter much, especially once Kevin comes back. Moore is overpaid for what he does, especially for a team that is middling at best. I expect Petrie to do something that will improve the team's outlook for the future before the trade deadline, probably involving Bibby and Artest. I am willing to defer to him, but I have to stop short of crowning him the GM of the Year because he claimed Beno off waivers and drafted Spenser Hawes.

 

[Glenn]

I don't think Petrie will win any awards but he also hired Theus which may have been the best move he made.

 

[Superman]

I don't think Petrie will win any awards but he also hired Theus which may have been the best move he made.

True, true.

 

[Heuge]

AGAIN! This could be his 3rd MVGM.

Absurd.
There are only a few franchises in a worse situation than us. Keep in mind we are exactly the same as we were last year. Should Petrie make some savvy moves with this recent string of success (ie. move Miller, Thomas, Bibby, Artest, Moore) then we could start talking about him as even being a good GM at the moment.

 

[Glenn]

Absurd.
There are only a few franchises in a worse situation than us. Keep in mind we are exactly the same as we were last year. Should Petrie make some savvy moves with this recent string of success (ie. move Miller, Thomas, Bibby, Artest, Moore) then we could start talking about him as even being a good GM at the moment.

Well, maybe one third are in worse shape. And, wow, do we disagree on who we move. There has to be darn good reason to move some of your best players, especially the ones in their prime, because "best" players don't fall off the tree, especially the trees that grow around Sacramento. Will we dump Martin when he is 30 because he is old and we need to rebuild? Check out the Celtics' roster.

I see a general attitude that we must always be building and I understand that. I think we need to be a little wiser in understanding that we build to get players in their prime and then KEEP them. This constant need for young NBA ignorant players bothers me. We have a boatload of young talent and that needs to be balanced by experience or otherwise all you have is a spectacular college team. (My opinion)

So who's in their prime? Artest, Salmons, and maybe Bibby. Moore is on the down side although is playing as good as I could ever expect and at the worst has a two year contract. Brad is having the best year in a while and will probably be used up at the end of his present contract. I don't think he has any trade value because of his salary. I'd keep Brad for the next two years and then see what he wants from that point on. He may settle for a relatively small contract. I'd pay him $6 mil and that's a lot of 6 packs. That's as good as a trade in my book.

There is no one way to solve a problem.

 

[Heuge]

Well, maybe one third are in worse shape. And, wow, do we disagree on who we move. There has to be darn good reason to move some of your best players, especially the ones in their prime, because "best" players don't fall off the tree, especially the trees that grow around Sacramento. Will we dump Martin when he is 30 because he is old and we need to rebuild? Check out the Celtics' roster.

I see a general attitude that we must always be building and I understand that. I think we need to be a little wiser in understanding that we build to get players in their prime and then KEEP them. This constant need for young NBA ignorant players bothers me. We have a boatload of young talent and that needs to be balanced by experience or otherwise all you have is a spectacular college team. (My opinion)

So who's in their prime? Artest, Salmons, and maybe Bibby. Moore is on the down side although is playing as good as I could ever expect and at the worst has a two year contract. Brad is having the best year in a while and will probably be used up at the end of his present contract. I don't think he has any trade value because of his salary. I'd keep Brad for the next two years and then see what he wants from that point on. He may settle for a relatively small contract. I'd pay him $6 mil and that's a lot of 6 packs. That's as good as a trade in my book.

There is no one way to solve a problem.

Aside from Bibby and Artest, I think we are of the same mindset.
With Artest, I dont think we want him next year. He is going to ask for way more then he is worth. I don't think Artest himself has an accurate value of himself. Therefore, I think you move him before we bleed the talent.
Bibby, I am on the fence. Don't want to trade him for crap (ie. Webber) Rather keep him, but if the right deal came, do it.
Miller, my hope is we can get something for him because he is playing a bit over his head right now. Trade high.
Salmons...I guess. Still think he doesn't play very smart.

 

[AriesMar27]

its funny that beno is the player that we have been waiting on for the past 2 seasons... and he really makes drafting douby useless... he so could have been had back then...

 

[Glenn]

Aside from Bibby and Artest, I think we are of the same mindset.
With Artest, I dont think we want him next year. He is going to ask for way more then he is worth. I don't think Artest himself has an accurate value of himself. Therefore, I think you move him before we bleed the talent.
Bibby, I am on the fence. Don't want to trade him for crap (ie. Webber) Rather keep him, but if the right deal came, do it.
Miller, my hope is we can get something for him because he is playing a bit over his head right now. Trade high.
Salmons...I guess. Still think he doesn't play very smart.

Is your objection to Artest based on his court play or the "Artest moments?" We'll see how negotiations with Artest goes. His value may depend a lot on how much a risk other teams may wish to take. Theus values him and has called him the team's anchor. (My best pun of the decade was wasted when no one noticed that I said, "you don't trade your anchors away. SLIM!!!!! ) Who knows, this input from Theus, if accurate and not BS, may boost his value to the Kings.

His surrogate father, Chuck Persons, is on the coaching staff. This may be a key element.

 

[Circa_1985_Fan]

its funny that beno is the player that we have been waiting on for the past 2 seasons... and he really makes drafting douby useless... he so could have been had back then...

Well, I think it's pure speculation as to the reasons for Petrie drafting Douby in the first place...did he have in mind that he could experiment with him in hopes of transforming him into a PG??(which we've found out a few times in our history, NEVER works) Who knows? I think that the pickup of Beno was the first legitimately smart thing I've seen him do in a few years...and that's counting Salmons, too, because once Martin comes back, it's back to the bench for John, and we all know what we get from him off the bench...and its not much. Beno was a good move, though.

 

[AriesMar27]

Well, I think it's pure speculation as to the reasons for Petrie drafting Douby in the first place...did he have in mind that he could experiment with him in hopes of transforming him into a PG??(which we've found out a few times in our history, NEVER works) Who knows? I think that the pickup of Beno was the first legitimately smart thing I've seen him do in a few years...and that's counting Salmons, too, because once Martin comes back, it's back to the bench for John, and we all know what we get from him off the bench...and its not much. Beno was a good move, though.

thats what kills me too... after hart, ostertag, woods, house, taylor, skinner, price and douby we finally end up with a real back up pg and center... but now we have no starting pg and our pf position is all screwed up.... man that webber trade and drafting douby are a pain in the rear...



but beno is dope....

 

[Circa_1985_Fan]

thats what kills me too... after hart, ostertag, woods, house, taylor, skinner, price and douby we finally end up with a real back up pg and center... but now we have no starting pg and our pf position is all screwed up.... man that webber trade and drafting douby are a pain in the rear...



but beno is dope....

Who you tellin'? I've been preaching to the choir the last I dont know HOW many years about all the bad and questionable moves Petrie has done. But...if he makes a few good moves for every bad move, as opposed to the alternative, at least we'll be competitive, you would think. Trading Webber was the worst thing he's ever done, you wont get any arguments from me on that, I hated it then, and I still hate it now.

 

[Gary]

Gary, would you feel better with a guy who scored 7.8 pts and 5.6 rebounds who is getting $5.356 mil this year?

Yah probably. But next year when it's over 6mil I wont

Moore is a spot starter at best. Personally I think we should give Williams a few games to see if he might have a future w/ the team. Work him in for 10-15 minutes here and there. I know it's tough being that Hawes is hardly getting time, but I do believe Williams could give us spark.

 

[Gary]

Absurd.
There are only a few franchises in a worse situation than us. Keep in mind we are exactly the same as we were last year. Should Petrie make some savvy moves with this recent string of success (ie. move Miller, Thomas, Bibby, Artest, Moore) then we could start talking about him as even being a good GM at the moment.

Technically no..
We aren't in a bad situation at all. We were last year because the players didn't respect, and didn't want to play for the coach. What a difference a year, and new coach can make.

Our contract situation isn't horrible.

We aren't way over the cap.
Bibby comes off the books in a year or so.
Miller has played better and is actually tradeable now if we should find a suitor.
We have young talent at C/SG/SF, and a great pickup as a future backup PG in Beno who can spot start and give us good games.

Now we are still stuck w/ KT, and SAR until 2010, but think of it this way. We can gain talent from these players in the last year of their contract. We aren't the only people looking for expiring contracts. At least we aren't playing them just for the fact they make a lot of money. SAR could be bought out too

There are teams in worse situations *ahem* KNICKS** and teams who are paying lesser talent more $$..

 

[Superman]

Technically no..
We aren't in a bad situation at all. We were last year because the players didn't respect, and didn't want to play for the coach. What a difference a year, and new coach can make.

Our contract situation isn't horrible.

We aren't way over the cap.
Bibby comes off the books in a year or so.
Miller has played better and is actually tradeable now if we should find a suitor.
We have young talent at C/SG/SF, and a great pickup as a future backup PG in Beno who can spot start and give us good games.

Now we are still stuck w/ KT, and SAR until 2010, but think of it this way. We can gain talent from these players in the last year of their contract. We aren't the only people looking for expiring contracts. At least we aren't playing them just for the fact they make a lot of money. SAR could be bought out too

There are teams in worse situations *ahem* KNICKS** and teams who are paying lesser talent more $$..

Wow. I understand, and to an extent, agree with most of your points. But the idea that we aren't in a bad situation is something I can't get on board with, at all. Not only do we have bad contracts, we also have several holes in our lineup. We aren't anywhere near as bad, performance-wise, as we were last season, so that's a plus. The team is playing hard and Reggie Theus has gained their respect, so that's another plus.

I just don't want to have to wait until 2010 to be able to significantly upgrade the talent on the team, and then another year or so before we're ready for a strong playoff run.

 

[Brinzotti]

I was watching the Clippers vs Dallas game. They mentioned something of interest.

Chris Kaman has has the second highest scoring average increase in the NBA
Beno Udrih has the highest scoring average increase in the NBA.

I don't think Udrih is that great, I see him have some good games and also some really bad games. After being in the San Antonio system, I think that he has really good fundamentals. I don't see him as part of the Elite point guards in the NBA, yet. In terms of his role on the team, I think he is doing a very excellent job. I'm even in favor of starting him over Bibby since I feel he runs the offense better than Bibby did last year. Since Udrih is still young, I wonder if he will decide to stay in Sac or search for more money elsewhere since he will have a much higher market value after this season.

 

[NewArena]

I was watching the Clippers vs Dallas game. They mentioned something of interest.

Chris Kaman has has the second highest scoring average increase in the NBA
Beno Udrih has the highest scoring average increase in the NBA.

I don't think Udrih is that great, I see him have some good games and also some really bad games. After being in the San Antonio system, I think that he has really good fundamentals. I don't see him as part of the Elite point guards in the NBA, yet. In terms of his role on the team, I think he is doing a very excellent job. I'm even in favor of starting him over Bibby since I feel he runs the offense better than Bibby did last year. Since Udrih is still young, I wonder if he will decide to stay in Sac or search for more money elsewhere since he will have a much higher market value after this season.

Well he has only had one bad game here that i can remember so yes he has been fantastic for us. And the guy is young, he will continue to get better IMO.

 

[syadap]

I was watching the Clippers vs Dallas game. They mentioned something of interest.

Chris Kaman has has the second highest scoring average increase in the NBA
Beno Udrih has the highest scoring average increase in the NBA.

I don't think Udrih is that great, I see him have some good games and also some really bad games. After being in the San Antonio system, I think that he has really good fundamentals. I don't see him as part of the Elite point guards in the NBA, yet. In terms of his role on the team, I think he is doing a very excellent job. I'm even in favor of starting him over Bibby since I feel he runs the offense better than Bibby did last year. Since Udrih is still young, I wonder if he will decide to stay in Sac or search for more money elsewhere since he will have a much higher market value after this season.

And watching how Kaman has been playing this year, one could hope that hawes can play like that

 

[Circa_1985_Fan]

And watching how Kaman has been playing this year, one could hope that hawes can play like that

They are two different types of centers/players. Kaman is a banger, Hawes is not.

 

[Kingster]

Well, maybe one third are in worse shape. And, wow, do we disagree on who we move. There has to be darn good reason to move some of your best players, especially the ones in their prime, because "best" players don't fall off the tree, especially the trees that grow around Sacramento. Will we dump Martin when he is 30 because he is old and we need to rebuild? Check out the Celtics' roster.

I see a general attitude that we must always be building and I understand that. I think we need to be a little wiser in understanding that we build to get players in their prime and then KEEP them. This constant need for young NBA ignorant players bothers me. We have a boatload of young talent and that needs to be balanced by experience or otherwise all you have is a spectacular college team. (My opinion)

So who's in their prime? Artest, Salmons, and maybe Bibby. Moore is on the down side although is playing as good as I could ever expect and at the worst has a two year contract. Brad is having the best year in a while and will probably be used up at the end of his present contract. I don't think he has any trade value because of his salary. I'd keep Brad for the next two years and then see what he wants from that point on. He may settle for a relatively small contract. I'd pay him $6 mil and that's a lot of 6 packs. That's as good as a trade in my book.

There is no one way to solve a problem.

I see it from a totally different angle. They all need to go precisely because they are in their prime. Because they are at their peak, they will not get better. Salmons is young probably young enough to keep, and probably not in his prime yet. Probably SAR was past his prime when we got him. Miki, by the way, is on the precipice of the downhill slide. By the time you can even remotely have a discussion about a championship, they'll all be past their prime. They all need to go in order to reinvest in younger, more athletic players, who can theoretically take you to the promised land one day. The current crop can vie for the .500 mark, but can't be taken seriously for anything greater.

 

[Kingster]

Regarding Beno, he'll make a very good backup for a very good team.

For a starting pg we need a player who is quicker than our 2-guard.