Udoka's next stop? Looks like the Spurs

[juncan]

Report: Udoka to sign two-year deal with San Antonio
Posted by Casey Holdahl August 13, 2007 07:27AM
Categories: Free agency

The long ordeal that is Ime Udoka's free agency is reportedly coming to a close. Erin Cowen, Ime's agent, has told The Oregonian that Udoka is going to sign a two-year contract with the Spurs. "Sources" are saying that the deal is worth $2 million a year with the second year possibly being a player option.

http://blog.oregonlive.com/blazers/2...twoyear_d.html

It seems the deal is worth $2 million a year?

[AFBlue]

I disagree, Beno before Barry IMO. Barry gives more flexibility with the 12 man rotation by being able to play SG and run the point. His alson has an expiring contract.

That's a point I hear brought up alot when discussing how to backfill Beno in the 3rd PG spot if he's traded/let go.....but does it have any merit?

We all know that Barry CAN play the PG position, as he did from time to time is Seattle....but has Pop played Barry at that position when he had Beno at his disposal?

It's an honest question that I really don't know the answer to, but I haven't seen it in my experience watching the team.

Bottom Line: Shipping out Beno and having Barry as the 3rd string emergency PG is a viable option for Spurs Fan, but I don't think it's even a realistic option for Spurs FO.

[timvp]

I wouldn't say Udoka HAS to be on the 12-man roster.

I'd say there's a good chance because he seems to be the type of player that the Spurs really covet, but Udoka hasn't proven that he's worthy of any minutes for this team as of yet.

I think he could eventually push Barry to the end of the bench, and off this team, but I don't think it happens right away....if at all.

And I doubt Beno gets the boot because of the position that he plays. It has become standard practice that 3 PGs dress out every game, and I don't see that changing....

I don't see a situation in which Udoka isn't on the 12-man roster. You don't sign a 30-year-old veteran to guaranteed money to sit him on IR.

[ggoose25]

I wish the Spurs FO would stop trying to fit Beno into a roll he 1) sucks at and 2) is not meant to play.

Someone has said that he is naturally a combo type of guard and would have to work a lot on his handles to be the kind of reliable pg we need to fill in on an emergency basis.

I agree wholeheartedly.

Let this trashbag go, and keep Barry as insurance for the pg and sg positions. Bring in Sankidize and Mahinimi as the 13 and 14 roster spots, and play ball.

[timvp]

Pop loves Finley, but I don't think he'll be able to keep Udoka and his defense out of the starting line-up for long. I bet he'll start next to Bruce at the 2 within the first couple months of the season.

Yeah, I can imagine that as well. I would say the only thing that stands between Udoka and the starting lineup is if he and Bowen prove to be too weak of an offensive duo. That said, Finley doesn't do much offensively other than catch and shoot, either.

[Mister Sinister]

Halle-friggin'-lujah. We got something done.

[timvp]

It seems the deal worth $2 million a year?

Yeah, that blog has it listed different from the actual article. I think the blog is wrong because it's referencing the article . . . the blog writer must have just gotten confused.

Either way, even if it's a 2-year, $4M deal, that's a steal for the Spurs.

[AFBlue]

I don't see a situation in which Udoka isn't on the 12-man roster. You don't sign a 30-year-old veteran to guaranteed money to sit him on IR.

Except that the other swingmen with more tenure on this Spurs squad are also signed to guaranteed contracts....and those contracts happen to be bigger than the rumored $1M/yr deal.

I'm not saying you're wrong, nor do I think it's a bad thing to have Udoka on the court. But the situation isn't as cut-and-dry as it seems.

If Barry is traded though, it becomes a different story....

[AFBlue]

Yeah, that blog has it listed different from the actual article. I think the blog is wrong because it's referencing the article . . . the blog writer must have just gotten confused.

Either way, even if it's a 2-year, $4M deal, that's a steal for the Spurs.

Note that it also says "more than" $2M, so it could be a 2yr, $5M deal.

Either way it isn't a bad deal, but the higher number does have lux tax implictations....

[phxspurfan]

Yes! ByeBye Beno!!!1

[genghisrex]

Yeah, I can imagine that as well. I would say the only thing that stands between Udoka and the starting lineup is if he and Bowen prove to be too weak of an offensive duo. That said, Finley doesn't do much offensively other than catch and shoot, either.

Yeah, it'll be interesting to see how they work together. If Ime plays as Bruce's back-up rather than alongside him, there's not much of a role for him this year unless Bruce takes a dive or Pop starts to manage his minutes.

[AFBlue]

Yeah, it'll be interesting to see how they work together. If Ime plays as Bruce's back-up rather than alongside him, there's not much of a role for him this year unless Bruce takes a dive or Pop starts to manage his minutes.

This might actually be a smart thing.

Some on this board think it's a foregone conclusion that he'll retire when his contract is up next year, but I could easily see the Spurs offering vet min money to bring him back for another year or two.

And I would rather have Bruce as a contributor for less MPG over the next two or three years, than a stellar, high-octane Bruce for next year and a dogged out Bruce or no Bruce the following year.

The man is 37 years old....it's about time the Spurs started managing his minutes.

[Switchman]

DEFENSE!!!!

78 more days

[50 cent]

[El_Mago]

Udoka was a damn good defender in Portland where he pretty much locked people down by his lonesome.

The Scary Part is....he's coming to San Antonio where defensive concepts allow the player to become better defenders.....he's damn good already....and he's not even the best defender on the team......

The Spurs will LOCKDOWN teams this year.

Phew....

[Mister Sinister]

This is gonna rokk.

[Obstructed_View]

I'd sure love to watch the preseason practices while they compete for jobs.

[wildbill2u]

personally, I love the way the Spurs played their hand. No panic. No throwing big bucks around for a role player. They had a price in mind for his value and stayed with it.

There's always another deal and another hand. Good poker playing.

[Testing]

Who did he guard when they played the spurs last year? and howd he do?

[timvp]

personally, I love the way the Spurs played their hand. No panic. No throwing big bucks around for a role player. They had a price in mind for his value and stayed with it.

There's always another deal and another hand. Good poker playing.

Yeah, if the Udoka deal gets, the Spurs played this hand well.

It seems as if they offered a little bit more than the minimum but a little bit less than the LLE. I'm sure other teams were willing to throw the LLE at him at least, but the Spurs knew they had the advantage because of how well Udoka could fit long-term. They called the bluff from Udoka's agent and seem to be on the verge of getting a steal.

Luckily no team came offering a bigger contract. While the way the Spurs negotiate can lead to nice bargains, it can also lead to players getting away (SJax, PJ Brown, etc).

[timvp]

Who did he guard when they played the spurs last year? and howd he do?

A lot of good Udoka can be found in this thread , this thread and this thread.

I believe in one of those threads objective had a breakdown of how Udoka played against the Spurs.

[Streakyshooter08]

Something I really like about this signing is that allows the Spurs to have a great wing-defender on the court all the time. If he comes off the bench along with Manu you have a VERY nice 2nd unit: Manu/Udoka/Horry will be great: they all can defend and shoot the 3! I am really looking forward to see what they are able to do...

If the Spurs would manage to get a good shotblocker nex to TD down low it would be really awesome.

[ashbeeigh]

Lovely.

I don't know if this was mentioned in the Ian thread, but with the off chance that he comes over .... how does that impact him?

[duncan228]

Yeah, if the Udoka deal gets, the Spurs played this hand well.

While the way the Spurs negotiate can lead to nice bargains, it can also lead to players getting away (SJax, PJ Brown, etc).

Would you say that the Spurs have a better "win" record with the way they negotiate or a better "lose" record?

I'm with wildbill2u, I like the way they played this. I think they usually do play their hand well, or at least better than most. There's always room for criticism but overall I think they win more than they lose.

[timvp]

Would you say that the Spurs have a better "win" record with the way they negotiate or a better "lose" record?

Good question.

It's probably about even. The problem is that the strategy is more prone to backfire when there is more money on the line. While the Spurs were able to sign players like Bowen, Barry and hopefully Udoka for less than their market value, they had some big losses such as losing out of PJ Brown for a couple million and whatever happened in the SJax fiasco.

It seemingly worked well in this scenario so can't really complain.