Notorious H.O.P.
11-09-2004, 09:44 AM
Found this on SI.com. It's interesting to think if it played a significant role in Holt's mini-holdout.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2004/writers/chris_ballard/11/08/blog/index.html
"Barring a serious injury, the Spurs will win the NBA title. This was already a good team, but with the additions of Brent Barry and Beno Udrih, San Antonio is much better. Who is Beno (rhymes with Drain-O) Udrih, you ask? (Or maybe you don't, but I'll tell you anyway.) He could end up being the steal of the draft, a 6-foot-3 Slovenian point guard the Spurs selected with the 28th pick. Steady, solid and constantly moving without the ball, he's a perfect complement to the team, and already a better passer than Tony Parker.
Against the Lakers, Udrih made a beautiful backdoor feed and an equally impressive backdoor cut. Spurs players are already raving about how he gets them the ball where they like it and, according to one source, part of the reason the team hesitated to sign Parker to an extension was the play of Udrih in training camp."
How in the world could the Spurs have seen Beno enough (considering his summer league and preseason injuries) to consider the idea that he would replace Tony? During the Laker game, he looked good. During the Sonic game, he looked like any other rookie or NBDL callup lost on the court. The Spurs are high on Beno, but I think this columnist or his source is high if they think the Parker decision came down to anything but cold hard cash. Even at this contract level, if Parker shows any improvement, he can be a valuable trade asset. The Spurs would have been idiots to risk losing Tony over Beno's potential.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2004/writers/chris_ballard/11/08/blog/index.html
"Barring a serious injury, the Spurs will win the NBA title. This was already a good team, but with the additions of Brent Barry and Beno Udrih, San Antonio is much better. Who is Beno (rhymes with Drain-O) Udrih, you ask? (Or maybe you don't, but I'll tell you anyway.) He could end up being the steal of the draft, a 6-foot-3 Slovenian point guard the Spurs selected with the 28th pick. Steady, solid and constantly moving without the ball, he's a perfect complement to the team, and already a better passer than Tony Parker.
Against the Lakers, Udrih made a beautiful backdoor feed and an equally impressive backdoor cut. Spurs players are already raving about how he gets them the ball where they like it and, according to one source, part of the reason the team hesitated to sign Parker to an extension was the play of Udrih in training camp."
How in the world could the Spurs have seen Beno enough (considering his summer league and preseason injuries) to consider the idea that he would replace Tony? During the Laker game, he looked good. During the Sonic game, he looked like any other rookie or NBDL callup lost on the court. The Spurs are high on Beno, but I think this columnist or his source is high if they think the Parker decision came down to anything but cold hard cash. Even at this contract level, if Parker shows any improvement, he can be a valuable trade asset. The Spurs would have been idiots to risk losing Tony over Beno's potential.