Spurs soon to announce they are bringing back Ime Udoka

[etbluffer]

ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha... and you guys didn't want to get Jerry Stackhouse? At least Stackhouse is not afraid of shooting 3's! Udoka will pump fake 15 times when he first sees minutes on the court!

[Mel_13]

ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha... and you guys didn't want to get Jerry Stackhouse? At least Stackhouse is not afraid of shooting 3's! Udoka will pump fake 15 times when he first sees minutes on the court!

lol Stackhouse

[ElNono]

Defensively he (Neil) makes Roger Mason look like Bruce Bowen.

33 ain't over the hill. Michael Jordan won his last championship at age 35.

[ploto]

Pop likes Udoka- plain and simple.

[SenorSpur]

Terrible signing. I'd have preferred the Spurs kept Green, who's younger, more athletic, quicker, longer and has a higher upside. He could potentially be a better version of Udoka. Udoka never could shoot and hasn't been able to defend for a few years now. Basically, he's a worse version of Bogans.

Green most certainly, had his flaws, but I have to admit that I would've rather seen the Spurs keep him instead of Udoka. For the short term and from a transition perspective, I get the justification for the Udoka signing. However, Udoka wasn't real good for Sac-Town last year. He now looks like he's in rapid decline. I don't know what kind of defender Green would've made, but I have to believe that he could equal, maybe surpass, any type of contribution that Udoka will make.

[TJastal]

Now that you've posed an actual question, I'll respond.

1. Go the boxscores and add up the minutes played by the 5 bigs. Compare that number to 96. It's no longer a given that some smallball will be played every night. As the games add up, a distinct trend away from smallball is readily apparent.

2. There are varying degrees of smallball. I focus on the two major variations. Smallball vs. conventional 2 big configurations used by the opponent and smallball to match up with an opponent's small line up. Smallball vs. conventional configurations has virtually disappeared this season. All, or nearly all, of the Spurs smallball minutes have been played against small line-ups used by the opponents. 5 useful bigs and one legit SF on the current roster have made the use of small v. tall almost non-existent.

3. RJ's well do ented problems as a smallball 4 were when he was used against conventional line-ups. That failed experiment ended, for all intents and purposes, after the All-Star game last season. So we see RJ as a smallball 4 against teams that play small like Chicago or OKC. So to answer one of your questions, I would much prefer to see RJ matched up against Deng or Sefalosha than Udoka.

4. That wasn't the use of Udoka that was my concern. As stated, RJ has been used almost exclusively to match up with small line-ups used by the opposition. My concern with Udoka's presence on the roster is that he will be used vs. conventional 2 big configurations employed by the opposition. He was used in that capacity with some frequency during his first stint with the Spurs.

5. My concern is that Udoka's presence will reverse the trend away from smallball by increasing the worst kind of smallball; smallball vs. tallball. I am concerned that Udoka's presence will result in a net increase of smallball.

I guess I'm not all that concerned. I'll be quite happy not to see Jefferson play the 4 the rest of the season and even more happy never to see a micro-ball lineup that includes Gary Neal as a SF.

With Udoka as a small ball 4, the spurs shouldn't get overpowered too badly on the boards (Udoka is a surprisingly tough rebounder for his size and can easily check the offensively challenged Sefalosha, and can chase Deng around out on the perimeter). IMO.

Sure we might see a few more minutes of small ball per game but what if it actually works against conventional lineups? Might be nice to actually make teams fear & adjust to us for a change instead of always the opposite.

And I know people are sick and tired of hearing me talk about Matt Barnes but good golly, this man would have been perfect for this role.

[jag]

When Ime comes in and starts poo pooing on defenses I wanna see some apologies.

[The Truth #6]

So the consensus all of a sudden is that Ime is going to be in our rotation. Even if true, they can still cut him if he doesn't produce, right?

[Mel_13]

I guess I'm not all that concerned. I'll be quite happy not to see Jefferson play the 4 the rest of the season and even more happy never to see a micro-ball lineup that includes Gary Neal as a SF.

With Udoka as a small ball 4, the spurs shouldn't get overpowered too badly on the boards (Udoka is a surprisingly tough rebounder for his size and can easily check the offensively challenged Sefalosha, and can chase Deng around out on the perimeter). IMO.

Sure we might see a few more minutes of small ball per game but what if it actually works against conventional lineups? Might be nice to actually make teams fear & adjust to us for a change instead of always the opposite.

And I know people are sick and tired of hearing me talk about Matt Barnes but good golly, this man would have been perfect for this role.

Arguing for and against smallball in the same post. You are flexible.

We'll have to agree to disagree about Udoka's ability to chase around a player like Deng on the perimeter. He couldn't do it when he was here before, so I doubt he can do it now. You're usually wrong about these things, but I honestly hope that you're right this time. I strongly believe Ime will get the minutes as the backup SF, so I'll be rooting for his success.

Finally, you really do need to drop the Barnes thing. He didn't want to be here anymore than the Spurs wanted him here. It's a very dead horse.

[Mel_13]

So the consensus all of a sudden is that Ime is going to be in our rotation. Even if true, they can still cut him if he doesn't produce, right?

They can cut anybody, but they're much more likely to cut a player whose contract is not guaranteed. I don't believe we know the details of Ime's contract yet.

[The Truth #6]

They can cut anybody, but they're much more likely to cut a player whose contract is not guaranteed. I don't believe we know the details of Ime's contract yet.

Yeah, that's what I'm getting at. If his role is to be a place holder until Anderson returns, then that implies he would be then be cut, at least I think. However, isn't there a rule on the number of 10 day contracts that can be awarded to a player in a row? In other words, for Ime to be on the team for 2 months, does he have to be offered a more guaranteed form of a contract?

[jag]

When Ime D's up Dirk, I wanna see some apologies.

[MaNu4Tres]

Who will get more time at the 4/5, Udoka or Splitter?

[Dex]

They can cut anybody, but they're much more likely to cut a player whose contract is not guaranteed. I don't believe we know the details of Ime's contract yet.

Yeah we really dont know anything yet. 11 pages (so far) of speculation over one tweet by Monroe.

[Cry Havoc]

These threads blow up so fast it's freaking impossible to read them.

[Mel_13]

Yeah, that's what I'm getting at. If his role is to be a place holder until Anderson returns, then that implies he would be then be cut, at least I think. However, isn't there a rule on the number of 10 day contracts that can be awarded to a player in a row? In other words, for Ime to be on the team for 2 months, does he have to be offered a more guaranteed form of a contract?

Players on non-guaranteed contracts right now are essentially on day-to-day contracts. They can be cut at any time with no future financial cost to the team. For these players, January 10th is a very important day. All contracts in effect on January 10th become guaranteed for the remainder of the season.

Beginning January 10th, teams can offer ten day contracts. They can offer two consecutive ten day contracts to a player. After that, they must either waive the player or sign him to a guaranteed contract for the remainder of the season.

[Blackjack]

These threads blow up so fast it's freaking impossible to read them.

[MaNu4Tres]

these threads blow up so fast it's freaking impossible to read them.

#smgdh

[The Truth #6]

Players on non-guaranteed contracts right now are essentially on day-to-day contracts. They can be cut at any time with no future financial cost to the team. For these players, January 10th is a very important day. All contracts in effect on January 10th become guaranteed for the remainder of the season.

Beginning January 10th, teams can offer ten day contracts. They can offer two consecutive ten day contracts to a player. After that, they must either waive the player or sign him to a guaranteed contract for the remainder of the season.

Thanks.

[ChumpDumper]

And I know people are sick and tired of hearing me talk about Matt Barnes but good golly, this man would have been perfect for this role.

Drink!

[jag]

Matt Barnes drinking game ftw.

[Blackjack]

#smgdh

#gjmmsmmfgdh

[TJastal]

Arguing for and against smallball in the same post. You are flexible.

Well what I'm getting at is maybe Pop can start doing the dictating of matchups, and the small ball lineup with Udoka @ PF keeps the spurs viable in the rebounding wars as well as providing ultimate spacing and shooting. And maybe if Pop remember he has a guy named Splitter on the bench he can start dictating taller lineups as well, and really start keeping other teams off balance.

We'll have to agree to disagree about Udoka's ability to chase around a player like Deng on the perimeter. He couldn't do it when he was here before, so I doubt he can do it now. You're usually wrong about these things, but I honestly hope that you're right this time. I strongly believe Ime will get the minutes as the backup SF, so I'll be rooting for his success.

I'll take "usually wrong" as a backhanded compliment I guess. Btw, I don't think Udoka can do a worse job than Bonner did chasing Deng off pick and rolls.

Finally, you really do need to drop the Barnes thing. He didn't want to be here anymore than the Spurs wanted him here. It's a very dead horse.

Aww come on Mel13, you know how Chumpdumper looks forward to his drinking games and such.

[Mel_13]

We disagree on plenty, but we both believe Ime will get his minutes. Here's to Ime's success.

[ElNono]

Yeah we really dont know anything yet. 11 pages (so far) of speculation over one tweet by Monroe.

It's official:

Spurs Sign Ime Udoka

SAN ANTONIO, TX (Nov. 24, 2010) - The San Antonio Spurs today announced that they have signed guard/forward Ime Udoka. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Udoka (#5, 6’5”, 220, 8/9/77) returns to San Antonio after spending the 2007-08 and 2008-09 seasons with the Silver and Black. In his two seasons with the Spurs, he appeared in 140 games, averaging 5.1 points and 3.0 rebounds per game in 16.8 minutes. In 21 career playoff games, all with the Spurs, Udoka averaged 5.0 points and 3.3 rebounds.

In his six-year NBA career, Udoka has averaged 5.5 points and 3.1 rebounds in 296 games. He spent last season with the Sacramento Kings, where he played in 69 games and averaged 3.6 points and 2.8 rebounds in 15.4 minutes per game.

He enjoyed his best campaign during the 2006-07 season when he started 75 games for Portland, averaging 8.4 points, 3.7 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 28.6 minutes per game. He shot a career-best .461 (237-for-514) from the field and .406 (89-for-219) from three-point territory. Udoka has also played for the L.A. Lakers, in 2003-04, and the New York Knicks in 2005-06.

Undrafted out of college, Udoka has spent time in NBA Development League, USBL, IBA and internationally in Spain and France. In 2005-06 he was named to the All-NBA D-League First Team and was also the recipient of Jason Collier Sportsmanship Award after averaging 17.1 points and 6.2 rebounds in 45 games for the Fort Worth Flyers. Udoka began his D-League career in 2002-03 with the Charleston Lowgators. He also represented Nigeria at the 2006 FIBA World Championships, where he averaged 14.2 points, 5.2 rebounds and 3.7 assists.

Udoka closed out his college career at Portland State where he led the Vikings in scoring, rebounding, steals and blocked shots during the 1999-2000 season. He was also named First Team All-Big Sky Conference and selected as the league’s Newcomer of the Year. Udoka began his college career at Eastern Utah and spent a year at University of San Francisco before arriving at Portland State.