tlongII
10-08-2009, 09:24 PM
http://portlandtribune.com/sports/story.php?story_id=125494899061979500
Ime Udoka and Jarron Collins have the next two weeks to prove what they can do in a Trail Blazer uniform.
After that, one of them won’t be wearing one.
It’s down to a choice between Udoka and Collins for the 15th and final spot on the Portland roster.
Each will have the eight games in the preseason to convince Blazer brass he is the right man for the job.
“I’m going to keep them until the end of the preseason,” coach Nate McMillan says. “I like both of them, and I want to try to play both of them so their performance can let us make a decision. Both guys fit as far as character and as far as bringing experience to the team. Right now, we can’t keep both of them.”
Both players think they know the score.
“Injuries will play a part in it, but at the end of the day, you have two solid veterans,” Collins says. “Do you want a big or a little?”
“It’s going to come down to who outperforms who and what they need at certain positions,” Udoka says. “We have five wings and five bigs right now. It will be about who outplays who.”
Pritchard says the decision will be up to McMillan and his coaching staff, but adds this: “You always look for the best player.”
That would appear to be Udoka, the former Portland State and Jefferson High standout who started at small forward for the Blazers in 2006-07 before spending the past two seasons in San Antonio.
But Portland is stacked with young talent at the 3 spot, with Nicolas Batum, Martell Webster and Travis Outlaw also competing for minutes.
The 6-11, 250-pound Collins spent his eight NBA seasons with Utah, a part-time starter with career averages of 4.3 points and 3.1 rebounds. He’d be nothing more than practice fodder for centers Greg Oden and Joel Przybilla, but that carries a certain appeal to the Blazer decision-makers. And if either Oden or Przybilla were to go down to injury . . .
“He’d be an insurance policy,” McMillan says, with a nod.
Udoka and Collins both came to Portland without guaranteed contracts after multiple discussions with Pritchard and McMillan.
“They said there was an opportunity for me to compete for a spot,” says Collins, who turns 31 on Dec. 2. “Now it’s down to myself and Ime. We’re both veterans, and we’re both competitors.”
Udoka, 32, had serious talks with Oklahoma City and thought he had a deal with Denver firmed up this summer.
“It was very, very close to being done, but at the last minute, it fell through,” he says.
A Portland resident, the idea of staying home and playing for a coach with whom he enjoys a great relationship appealed to Udoka.
“That was big,” he says. “I was here all summer working out with the guys. I had a better feeling coming here after the talks I had with Nate and the players. I was more comfortable here than anywhere else, even with the logjam at my position.”
Collins was a second-round draft choice who made the Utah team as a rookie and wound up starting 206 games for the Jazz.
Udoka was undrafted but earned a last-minute spot with Portland and became one of the surprises of the NBA in 2006-07, averaging 8.4 points and 3.7 rebounds for the Blazers that season.
“It’s really the same situation now. I’m nonguaranteed, trying to make the roster,” Udoka says. “But I’m more familiar with the guys and the coaches this time. The biggest difference is, the coaches know what I can do, and I’m back home playing with some guys I played with before.”
So it’s a showdown between Udoka and Collins, mano a mano, for the final roster spot.
Ime Udoka and Jarron Collins have the next two weeks to prove what they can do in a Trail Blazer uniform.
After that, one of them won’t be wearing one.
It’s down to a choice between Udoka and Collins for the 15th and final spot on the Portland roster.
Each will have the eight games in the preseason to convince Blazer brass he is the right man for the job.
“I’m going to keep them until the end of the preseason,” coach Nate McMillan says. “I like both of them, and I want to try to play both of them so their performance can let us make a decision. Both guys fit as far as character and as far as bringing experience to the team. Right now, we can’t keep both of them.”
Both players think they know the score.
“Injuries will play a part in it, but at the end of the day, you have two solid veterans,” Collins says. “Do you want a big or a little?”
“It’s going to come down to who outperforms who and what they need at certain positions,” Udoka says. “We have five wings and five bigs right now. It will be about who outplays who.”
Pritchard says the decision will be up to McMillan and his coaching staff, but adds this: “You always look for the best player.”
That would appear to be Udoka, the former Portland State and Jefferson High standout who started at small forward for the Blazers in 2006-07 before spending the past two seasons in San Antonio.
But Portland is stacked with young talent at the 3 spot, with Nicolas Batum, Martell Webster and Travis Outlaw also competing for minutes.
The 6-11, 250-pound Collins spent his eight NBA seasons with Utah, a part-time starter with career averages of 4.3 points and 3.1 rebounds. He’d be nothing more than practice fodder for centers Greg Oden and Joel Przybilla, but that carries a certain appeal to the Blazer decision-makers. And if either Oden or Przybilla were to go down to injury . . .
“He’d be an insurance policy,” McMillan says, with a nod.
Udoka and Collins both came to Portland without guaranteed contracts after multiple discussions with Pritchard and McMillan.
“They said there was an opportunity for me to compete for a spot,” says Collins, who turns 31 on Dec. 2. “Now it’s down to myself and Ime. We’re both veterans, and we’re both competitors.”
Udoka, 32, had serious talks with Oklahoma City and thought he had a deal with Denver firmed up this summer.
“It was very, very close to being done, but at the last minute, it fell through,” he says.
A Portland resident, the idea of staying home and playing for a coach with whom he enjoys a great relationship appealed to Udoka.
“That was big,” he says. “I was here all summer working out with the guys. I had a better feeling coming here after the talks I had with Nate and the players. I was more comfortable here than anywhere else, even with the logjam at my position.”
Collins was a second-round draft choice who made the Utah team as a rookie and wound up starting 206 games for the Jazz.
Udoka was undrafted but earned a last-minute spot with Portland and became one of the surprises of the NBA in 2006-07, averaging 8.4 points and 3.7 rebounds for the Blazers that season.
“It’s really the same situation now. I’m nonguaranteed, trying to make the roster,” Udoka says. “But I’m more familiar with the guys and the coaches this time. The biggest difference is, the coaches know what I can do, and I’m back home playing with some guys I played with before.”
So it’s a showdown between Udoka and Collins, mano a mano, for the final roster spot.