Posts tagged BenoUdrih at FanHouse

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A season ago, the Pacific Division was able to send just two of its teams to the playoffs, but one of them went all the way to the Finals. And while that's not likely to change this season -- at least the part about the two playoff teams -- each club definitely has its share of intriguing story lines.

Let's start off in Los Angeles, where the Lakers' playoff run last season took place with one of the team's key components on the sidelines. There are always many stories in Laker-land, but a lot of the team's fans seem to be most interested in this one: With the return of Andrew Bynum, do the Lakers have a shot to win 70 games?

Despite the recent flood of positive Andrew Bynum stories hitting the L.A. papers lately (seriously, his P.R. machine is working overtime), I'm not convinced that his addition to the lineup automatically makes the Lakers unstoppable. There's the whole thing about figuring out how to co-exist with Pau Gasol, and how Lamar Odom will perform (likely) playing further away from the basket. When you add in the fact that even if the team was capable of winning 70 games, there's really no motivation to do so, unless someone else is on the same ridiculous pace and it would mean home court advantage.

This offseason, NBA FanHouse will address important questions about the league. It will be a Summer of Answers. First up: the biggest draft busts of the decade.

Unless you're a fan of the Toronto Raptors or a huge NBA Draft nerd follower, you may have read that headline and thought, "who's Rafael Araujo? Never heard of him." That was my initial thought anyway, and that, my friends, is exactly why Mr. Araujo comes in at number four on our Biggest Busts of the '00s list.

When you look back at the 2004 draft, everyone taken in the first seven picks before Araujo turned out to be productive NBA (or Euroleague) players. Well, except for Shaun Livingston who had the gruesome knee injury two seasons ago. But that's no biggie, right? The talent level could have simply dropped off after that point, and Araujo could have been the first on a long list of disappointments who just happened to be drafted eighth overall. Unfortunately for him (and the Raptors), this was a very deep draft.

Players selected after Rafael (pronounced "HA-f-eye-ell" if you believe NBA.com) include Al Jefferson, Josh Smith, J.R. Smith, Kevin Martin, Sasha Vujacic, Beno Udrih, Anderson Varejao, Pape Sow ... just seeing if you were still paying attention. The point is this: when a player is selected with the number eight pick, with this much talent still on the board, and his career averages over three seasons are under three points and three rebounds a game, I don't know if "bust" is a strong enough word to describe his NBA status.

Most of the Olympic men's basketball field has been set, with Argentina, Australia, Iran, Lithuania, Russia, Angola, China, Spain and the United States preparing for the August Games. The top three teams in the Olympic qualifying tournament -- which begins today in Athens -- will also compete in Beijing. Here's a quick look at the tourney.

The Favorite: Greece. The Greek team famously beat Team USA in the 2006 World Championships, setting off the maelstrom of righteous indignation which promised to (but didn't) revolutionize the way USA Basketball chose its teams. Greece boasts no current NBA players, but could beat a half-dozen NBA teams. Guard play makes the Greeks the favorites. Theo Papaloukas should be well-known in America, and Dimitris Diamantidis is one of the best perimeter defenders in Europe. Add good size up front and home court advantage, and it'd be a surprise if the Greeks didn't win this outright.

The Contenders: Germany, Brazil, Puerto Rico. At least one of these teams won't make it (unless Greece crumbles). Germany famously boasts both Dirk Nowitzki and Chris Kaman now, though little else. Brazil will be without Leandro Barbosa, but has Tiago Splitter and some good guards. Also, Brazilian two-guard Alex Garcia shattered a backboard in the pre-game lay-up line in an exhibition last week. Awesome. But never count out Puerto Rico, with an assortment of former and current NBA players like Carlos Arroyo, J.J. Barea, and Peter John Ramos, as well SACRAMENTO STATE! product Joel (pronounced "Joe .... El") Jones.

Most of the Olympic men's basketball field has been set, with Argentina, Australia, Iran, Lithuania, Russia, Angola, China, Spain and the United States preparing for the August Games. The top three teams in the Olympic qualifying tournament -- which begins today in Athens -- will also compete in Beijing. Here's a quick look at the tourney.

The Favorite: Greece. The Greek team famously beat Team USA in the 2006 World Championships, setting off the maelstrom of righteous indignation which promised to (but didn't) revolutionize the way USA Basketball chose its teams. Greece boasts no current NBA players, but could beat a half-dozen NBA teams. Guard play makes the Greeks the favorites. Theo Papaloukas should be well-known in America, and Dimitris Diamantidis is one of the best perimeter defenders in Europe. Add good size up front and home court advantage, and it'd be a surprise if the Greeks didn't win this outright.

The Contenders: Germany, Brazil, Puerto Rico. At least one of these teams won't make it (unless Greece crumbles). Germany famously boasts both Dirk Nowitzki and Chris Kaman now, though little else. Brazil will be without Leandro Barbosa, but has Tiago Splitter and some good guards. Also, Brazilian two-guard Alex Garcia shattered a backboard in the pre-game lay-up line in an exhibition last week. Awesome. But never count out Puerto Rico, with an assortment of former and current NBA players like Carlos Arroyo, J.J. Barea, and Peter John Ramos, as well SACRAMENTO STATE! product Joel (pronounced "Joe .... El") Jones.

If that whole idea of a professional athlete taking less money to land in a competitive situation freaked you out for a little while, well, fear not -- Ron Artest is here to assure you that everything in this totally twisted world is still right. How so, you ask?

He sent an email to Marc Stein tonight stating that deciding not to opt out of his contract was a "mistake".

Artest also conceded that his long-term future is likely not in Sacramento, saying via e-mail: "I don't see myself with [the] Kings beyond 2008-09.

"I think I made the biggest mistake by staying in my contract and I have to live with it," Artest said. "I had some misleading information [in making the] decision on not opting out. [But] I still thank God for all his blessings and being able to play basketball and help people."

First of all, why the hell does Artest continue to send emails directly to Stein and ESPN? I have no issue with him dealing with the WWL, I just think at some point, one of his advisor/agent type people would just say "stop." Or at least put a breathalyzer styled timer thing on his computer that prevents sending emails without waiting at least an hour.

It did not take long for the Sacramento Kings to lock up their point guard of the future (I'm not crowning him, but he will be there for the foreseeable portion of it), as Sam Amick is reporting that the Kings and Beno Udrih have agreed to a five year deal that will pay him $30 million.

The deal for the fifth-year point guard can officially be signed when the free agency moratorium lifts on July 8. According to numerous sources, Udrih received the full five-year deal for the entire midlevel exception (approximately $6 million per season).

"It's good for everybody," Cornstein said. "They've expressed tremendous interest not just starting at 12:01 last night New York time but really from the get go.

"They took a chance on Beno when he was really kind of an outcast from San Antonio, and put him in a fantastic position and believed in him and gave him a chance to run their team. I think he's great for Sacramento, and I think Sacramento is great for him."

Whether he is great for Sacramento remains to be seen, because Beno does have his issues as an on-the-floor leader and distributor. However, out of the remaining options available to the Kings (all-in on Gilbert -- unlikely -- or someone like Chris Duhon) he was clearly the most realistically appealing.

Beno's return gives the Kings essentially the same roster from last season, injury aside, that actually made some noise in a tough Western Conference. And even if he's not the perfect slam dunk, the Kings locked up their starting point guard without having to sacrifice any other parts.

Last year it was these two geniuses making all the NBA vacation noise. With the NBA free agency period just underway, we find out what NBA stars will be giving their [travel] agents a call this year as they look for new destinations.

1. Gilbert Arenas
6'4", 215 -- PG -- 26 years old, 7 years pro
Status: Unrestricted FA after opting out

Supposedly, Gilbert Arenas is all set to sign with the Washington Wizards again. And if he didn't you can bet there would be one teed off formerly unrestricted free agent. Rumor is, though, that both the Warriors and Wizards have thrown out max deals for Arenas, so it basically comes down to him picking at this point. Spiiiice.

Available Bookings: Washington, Golden State
The likely scenario is that Gil ends up staying where he is via the double-secret-probation deal already in place, getting close to max money and crippling the Wizards salary cap for the next few years. But gosh, they're fun to watch.

Destination: Washington.

2. Elton Brand
6'8", 254 -- PF -- 29 years old, 9 years pro
Status: Unrestricted after opting out

After much hand-wringing and "100 degree" reversals, Ron Artest decided against opting out of the final year of his contract with the Kings. By staying, he'll earn just $7.4 million, or less than half of the $16 million that guys like Elton Brand and Baron Davis left on the table in search of greener bank accounts pastures.

But while the Kings know they'll have Artest back (even if he's only a bargaining chip to be used in a trade), the same can't be said for Beno Udrih. Sam Amick of the Sacramento Bee reports that the Kings called Udrih the first moment they were allowed to offer him the full mid-level exception over five years, but that may not be enough. Instead of settling for a mere phone call, Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy met face to face with Udrih last night in New York to make his pitch.

There's no word yet if the Clippers will match Sacramento's offer -- and they may not be able to commit to anything until figuring out what they're going to do with Brand and Corey Maggette -- but it's not surprising to see that Dunleavy made contacting Udrih a priority. The Clippers desperately need a point guard after finishing last year with Smush Parker and Brevin Knight sharing duties and officially giving up hope on Shaun Livingston, whose rights were renounced.

Roughly 20 teams need a point guard (slight exaggeration), and the free agent market is rather bad. Carlos Arroyo, anyone? Can Jason Williams get a contract offer? Shaun Livingston? Didn't think so. One name, however, will draw plenty of attention: Kings incumbent Beno Udrih.

Sacramento would like to keep him, but they don't carry his Bird rights and can only offer the mid-level exception ... which is what every other team in the league can offer. The Clippers have expressed interest in the Slovenian; of course, the Clippers passed up on signing Beno last fall because of financial considerations ... Udrih ended up pulling a couple hundred thousand from the Kings, and was the cheapest starting PG in the league (not named Chris Quinn). The Heat, the Knicks, the Cavaliers, and the Nuggets (if they can cut salary) could all have interest, as well.

Udrih's agent told reporters last week that Beno expects the full mid-level, assumedly for the longest allowable term. Sacramento probably doesn't want to make that price -- about $32 million for five years -- an opening offer for a 13-point, 4-assist level player, especially considering the team is looking to cut salary in advance of 2010. If Sacramento stutters, Beno could surely find the full mid-level waiting in L.A., where his warts weren't evident for a year and where salary's falling off the ledger regardless of this summer's point guard haul.

At the same time, it's possible Sacramento could offer the full thing and still get snubbed: if Elton Brand opts out of his contract on Monday, the Clippers become instant free agent players. Barring other maneuvers (like snatching Gilbert Arenas away from his "secret pact" with the Wizards), they could offer Beno just slightly more than Sacramento can, and hope Udrih loves money and the Sunset Strip more than slightly less money and ... um, Vlade Divac's underground bar.

ESPN is reporting that Indiana picked Jerryd Bayless at #11 not for themselves, but for the active active Blazers. Chad Ford says the trade is Bayless and Ike Diogu in exchange for Brandon Rush, picked 13th, and Jarrett Jack. Of course, it's a coup for Portland's Kevin Pritchard, who came into the draft needing a point guard and ended up with arguably the second best one available. And hey! Portland gets to save money in the deal, too.

The heartbreak of this one is that Indiana had no intent or need for Bayless before Portland came calling. The team after Indiana -- my Sacramento Kings -- have no point guard on the roster. Beno Udrih's agent has requested the full mid-level exception ... and the Clippers, who drafted a two-guard in Eric Gordon, are expected to offer as much.

Kings fans would have forgiven David Stern for his accused transgressions just to hear him call Jerryd's name at #12. Instead ... well, hi Jason Thompson. Pleased to meet your acquaintance, I suppose.

Portland is going to win 11 of the next 12 championships. Indiana picked Roy Hibbert with the #17, which comes over in the Jermaine O'Neal deal.