Udrih hopes to return this week

[spurssheriff]

Udrih hopes to return this week

Web Posted: 10/16/2006 11:53 PM CDT
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/s...s.331a008.html

Johnny Ludden
Express-News Staff Writer

Beno Udrih, who has yet to practice with the Spurs this preseason because of a sore right hamstring, said Monday he hopes to be back on the court by the end of the week.
Udrih is allowed to shoot, script plays and participate in some of the team's drills, but hasn't been cleared for contact.


He ran at "70, 80 percent" speed prior to Saturday's game against Orlando.

"I feel much better," Udrih said. "I didn't feel any pain, but still the strength is not where we want it to be.

"I have still a little bit of fear that I'll do it again, but I think when I'm done in a couple of days, I should be ready to go."

Udrih first hurt his hamstring a month ago while running sprints as part of his off-season conditioning work. He said he tried to play on it a couple of weeks later but tweaked it again.

Spurs coach Gregg Popovich expressed his frustration over Udrih's absence early in training camp by calling him the team's "fourth point guard." Popovich said Monday he hasn't decided yet how he'll use Udrih once he's cleared to play.

"It will depend some on how close we are to the season," Popovich said, "and how the other guys are playing."

The Spurs signed Jacque Vaughn presumably to be their third point guard while hoping Udrih would be dependable enough to back up Tony Parker. Vaughn played well in training camp but hasn't been as consistent since, which isn't surprising considering he's trying to learn the team's offense.

Popovich also thinks Brent Barry can provide depth at point guard, depending on the matchup. About 10 of the 17 minutes Barry played Saturday were at the point.

"I think it's a challenge and one I'd like to take on," Barry said. "I think it would be fun.

"I need as much playing time as possible, and the more minutes at that position, the better. Not only to get in shape, but also to understand what it's going to take to be effective at that position in our offense."

Barry shared point-guard duties, at times, when he was in Seattle, but usually did so from the off-guard position. Because a lot of the Spurs' offense is motion-based, they don't worry as much about who brings the ball up the floor.

"In our system, the ball can really go anywhere," Barry said. "We tend to get Tony the ball all the time, and he ends up running point quite a bit. But I think Pop would just like to see the ball get up the court, whether it's in Manu (Ginobili)'s hands, my hands or Michael (Finley)'s hands, if we're pushing the tempo."

The change, however, comes when the Spurs need someone to initiate the offense in a specific halfcourt set. That's one reason Udrih probably is still the team's best option to back up Parker.

Provided he can get healthy. And stay healthy.

"I'm not worried because I know the plays and everything from last year," Udrih said. "I'm just sad that I couldn't be with the guys on the court. I'm not in the shape I wanted to be right now."

Notebook: The Spurs didn't practice Sunday or Monday. Popovich instead took the team Monday morning to visit wounded soldiers at Brooke Army Medical Center. The NBA typically wants its teams to use their community-relations events as "NBA Cares" photo ops for the media, but Popovich requested this visit himself and told his staff he didn't want any attention drawn to it. The Spurs' coach has privately made trips to BAMC in the past, sometimes asking a player or two to accompany him. ... Afterward, the team made an appearance at the Spurs' annual charity golf tournament.

[alpineballer]

Popovich also thinks Brent Barry can provide depth at point guard, depending on the matchup. About 10 of the 17 minutes Barry played Saturday were at the point.

"I think it's a challenge and one I'd like to take on," Barry said. "I think it would be fun.

"I need as much playing time as possible, and the more minutes at that position, the better. Not only to get in shape, but also to understand what it's going to take to be effective at that position in our offense."

i tried to read between the lines.
would Barry speak about the challange and that it will be fun to take on, if Pop had not spoken to him before, that he (Barry) is going to be the primary back-up of Tony?
IMO he wouldn't go out like this, if Pop had said like: "listen Brent, if Beno can't get in shape in time, i think of playing you at the point for some minutes..."
if it was like this, Brent would mention the possibility of playing some point, if Beno can't play.

Popovich said Monday he hasn't decided yet how he'll use Udrih once he's cleared to play.

so i do belive, that Pop has already decided about the PG rotation and what he hasn't decided yet is if they are going to either waive Beno (buy out him), or try to trade him, or keep him on the inactive list, till the Spurs have found out if the duo of Barry and Vaughn is able to handle the point.
btw. some were mentioning that Charles Lee didn't look bad the few minutes he played.
he was a good defender in college, does he have the potential to slow the quick scoring guards in the NBA (Terry, Wade, Harris, Barbosa, Gordon etc.)?

[DunkinDan89]

Why on earth would they buy him out?

Obviously, Pop's frustrated with his development this year, but come on, the guy is injured, give him a break, anything is better than Jacque Vaughn for crying out loud!

Beno will get his spot sooner or later, and that will be the backup PG.

[Twilite Kid]

Trade him.

[charles3157]

Let Charles Le try!

[pjjrfan]

It seems to me that Tony ran the halfcourt sets of the spurs in 03 and 05. And I have no doubt that Barry can also run the team in a set offense. I just can't buy into this theory that the team will eventually need Beno to run the offense. I have no doubt that Barry can do an even better job at running those "specific" halfcourt sets Ludden talks about. I don't know about the rest of you but I just detect a note of unconcern by Beno about how Pop feels about him. I know its a mistake to talk back to Pop but the guy doesn't even aknowledge that Pop is ticked off about something. His statements remind me of those guys who aren't worried about their jobs because of some false sense of security or even worse denial.

[bnwhuxley]

Pop has already decided not to use Beno. Beno knows it, so he's not going to care either. Everyone loses out.

[kyleo]

Originally Posted by bnwhuxley

Pop has already decided not to use Beno. Beno knows it, so he's not going to care either. Everyone loses out.

That's what I figure. And if that's the case, trade him. Aren't there plenty of teams sorely lacking at the PG position? Or at least enough to get something for him?

[yankeespur]

Notebook: The Spurs didn't practice Sunday or Monday. Popovich instead took the team Monday morning to visit wounded soldiers at Brooke Army Medical Center. The NBA typically wants its teams to use their community-relations events as "NBA Cares" photo ops for the media, but Popovich requested this visit himself and told his staff he didn't want any attention drawn to it. The Spurs' coach has privately made trips to BAMC in the past, sometimes asking a player or two to accompany him....

Is anyone else touched a bit by this?
Good for him.

[spurtime]

Pop is awesome...

[pjjrfan]

Pop is pure class. Seldom have I seen a coach or manager who very rarely makes any kind of excuses. I'm so used to Pop always giving the opponent props first and foremost. win or lose. A guy with an inner fire that makes him one of the most competitive people I've have ever seen in the world of sports. Yet with a quiet dignity that makes him aware of the real priorities in life. I may not always agree with what Pop does, but I have never questioned his desire to win.

[romad_20]

Originally Posted by pjjrfan

Pop is pure class. Seldom have I seen a coach or manager who very rarely makes any kind of excuses. I'm so used to Pop always giving the opponent props first and foremost. win or lose.

I like that about Pop as well, even though its hard to take at times when you're getting shafted in the playoffs.

[e_93gsx]

Originally Posted by spurssheriff

Udrih hopes to return this week


Notebook: The Spurs didn't practice Sunday or Monday. Popovich instead took the team Monday morning to visit wounded soldiers at Brooke Army Medical Center. The NBA typically wants its teams to use their community-relations events as "NBA Cares" photo ops for the media, but Popovich requested this visit himself and told his staff he didn't want any attention drawn to it. The Spurs' coach has privately made trips to BAMC in the past, sometimes asking a player or two to accompany him. ... Afterward, the team made an appearance at the Spurs' annual charity golf tournament.

I love to see stuff like this done for wounded military. Let's them know they haven't been forgotten. Major kudos to the Spurs

[alpineballer]

Originally Posted by DunkinDan89

Why on earth would they buy him out?

Obviously, Pop's frustrated with his development this year, but come on, the guy is injured, give him a break, anything is better than Jacque Vaughn for crying out loud!

Beno will get his spot sooner or later, and that will be the backup PG.

Spurs are over the Lux Tax threshold just for as much as Beno's salary is.
if they by him out for less than this, the buyout is used as the cap number.
it's a realistic scenario, especially since we learned that there were talks of Beno and also the Spurs with Maccabi.
just as an example.
if the Spurs buyout the contract of Beno for 500K and he signes with Maccabi (for let's say 1 M), it means that the Spurs save 500K in salary + 500K in lux tax AND they get a free roster spot (they could fill with Lee for example). given the fact that Pop won't play him anyhow, this is a scenario of damage limitation for the Spurs.
for sure the Spurs also tried to trade him, but i guess if they can't get a usefull player in return, they prefer the buyout version before trading for crap.

for Beno it makes sense, because he would make more money AND get playing time. you have to consider that Beno will be a FA next summer (Spurs didn't pick his 4th year option yet), so if he is buried at the end of the Spurs bench for the whole season, his market value will be very very low next summer.

and again (mentioned this in another thread), Beno always almost immediatly got injured, when he was unhappy with his situation. this was the case with Maccabi and also with Avtodor Saratov. it's not without a reason why Pop questioned the dedication of Beno in the medias. and even if Beno was 100 times more talented than Vaughn, if he isn't working hard enough, he will never get a chance from Pop.

[SupermanThree]

Originally Posted by alpineballer

Spurs are over the Lux Tax threshold just for as much as Beno's salary is.
if they by him out for less than this, the buyout is used as the cap number.
it's a realistic scenario, especially since we learned that there were talks of Beno and also the Spurs with Maccabi.
just as an example.
if the Spurs buyout the contract of Beno for 500K and he signes with Maccabi (for let's say 1 M), it means that the Spurs save 500K in salary + 500K in lux tax AND they get a free roster spot (they could fill with Lee for example). given the fact that Pop won't play him anyhow, this is a scenario of damage limitation for the Spurs.
for sure the Spurs also tried to trade him, but i guess if they can't get a usefull player in return, they prefer the buyout version before trading for crap.

for Beno it makes sense, because he would make more money AND get playing time. you have to consider that Beno will be a FA next summer (Spurs didn't pick his 4th year option yet), so if he is buried at the end of the Spurs bench for the whole season, his market value will be very very low next summer.

and again (mentioned this in another thread), Beno always almost immediatly got injured, when he was unhappy with his situation. this was the case with Maccabi and also with Avtodor Saratov. it's not without a reason why Pop questioned the dedication of Beno in the medias. and even if Beno was 100 times more talented than Vaughn, if he isn't working hard enough, he will never get a chance from Pop.

Question: If the Spurs were to buy out Beno, is there any guarantee that he would go to Europe? Lots of posters (and I think Hollinger) have argued that Beno would play a much bigger role on another NBA team. So why wouldn't he sign as a free agent in the NBA? I don't think the Spurs would have any say. (As a precedent I am thinking of the Mavs buying out Finley and him signing with the Spurs the following year.)

Originally Posted by charles3157

Let Charles Le try!

You have inspired my first ever

Honestly, I am starting to dislike Lee just because of your campaigning. If you are a relative or friend or something please understand that this isn't helping.

[easy7]

Udrih hopes to return this week - After drinking a pitcher of Pop's kool-aid the only thing I can say is - why?