30Q: How Will Beno Udrih Respond?

by Tom Ziller on Sep 24, 2009 12:23 PM PDT in Commentary

30Q asks the important questions about the Kings all through September.

Earlier this offseason, I broke down why and how Beno Udrih broke down last year. Beno took about 20 games to go from a player a reasonable share (if not a majority) of fans accepted at the full mid-level exception, to a player everyone in town hated. Beno looked weak, lethargic, slow, completely defendable and completely indefensible.

Certainly, the team put the ball back in his court. If Beno begins preseason as the starter, it is an honorary position. The Kings drafted Tyreke Evans to play point guard, and trade down six spots in the high second round for point guard Sergio Rodriguez. This was not the creation of cursory, default pressure on the depth chart. The front office basically opened fire on Beno. This isn't subjecting Beno to a challenge from a rookie -- this is trying to make Beno the Kenny Thomas of the backcourt.

No one has nice things to say about Beno's spirit. Ever. So I'm not optimistic. But as one of the more highly paid Kings and who has not yet been completely K-9'd, he merits consideration as a member of the team heading into camp. It is my opinion that we shall see quite quickly whether he'll fight for relevance or instead fade away. It is in the best interest of the team that he fight, so, again, here's to hope.

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Photo caption

Kings guard Beno Udrih (middle) dozes off on his way to the basket. Spurs Kurt Thomas (left) and Tony Parker (right) discover that Udrih farts in his sleep.

SACTOWN ROYALTY - Try our thick creamy shakes!

by section214 on Sep 24, 2009 12:32 PM PDT reply actions 18 recs

Fast-tracked to comment Hall-of-Fame

by Tom Ziller on Sep 24, 2009 12:39 PM PDT up reply actions

There should be such a thing

Like a “most rec’d comments on the site” filter or such.

Father of the "Natt this!" movement and Grandmaster of the "Never let AnotherStupidSN forget what a Sham-Wow is" Order.

by Aykis16 on Sep 24, 2009 12:42 PM PDT up reply actions

Section, Section, Section - rec'd rec'd rec'd

what goes through that head of yours and why do i think it is so darn funny?

Makes talking about Beno superfluous – perfect! as he spent last year proving his insignficance and making us forever doubt Geoff Petrie’s GM abilities on using the MLE (Francisco Garcia didn’t help either).

by betweentheeyes on Sep 24, 2009 1:28 PM PDT up reply actions

Don't forget

making us forever doubt Geoff Petrie’s GM abilities on using the MLE

Mikki Moore, Shareef, John Salmons.

by Carl on Sep 24, 2009 3:27 PM PDT up reply actions

John was worth the MLE

Shareef was a case of bad luck. Mikki Moore? Well, there is no excuse for Mikki Moore.

by Kusian on Sep 24, 2009 3:40 PM PDT up reply actions

Bad luck?

The only reason Geoff could sign Reef is because the Nets backed out over concerns over his knees. Maybe that should have been a red flag?

by LPKingsFan on Sep 24, 2009 3:53 PM PDT up reply actions

Point taken

It was also a shame he lost time with the jaw and having to share minutes with He Who Shall Not Be Named. Shareef was a very good player and is a person that I greatly admire. I wish he could have gone out differently.

by Kusian on Sep 24, 2009 4:55 PM PDT up reply actions

that I can agree with

by LPKingsFan on Sep 24, 2009 9:21 PM PDT up reply actions

Hmmmmm

I just don’t know why BTE hates Cisco so much.

I doubt the majority here agree.

So imitate the action of the tiger!.
Lend the eye a terrible aspect
- and teach them how to war!
Henry V iii

by lietothegirls on Sep 24, 2009 9:27 PM PDT up reply actions 1 recs

LOL Funny!

I am sure that my colleagues are wondering, at this moment, why I am busting a gut and can’t stop cracking up. OMG

Either that or Kurt Thomas has a serious BO problem.

by MustangMBS on Sep 24, 2009 12:45 PM PDT up reply actions

Green!

"Sometimes the capriciousness of youth anesthetizes common sense." -Let Geoff's words guide our patience this season.

by AnotherStupidSN on Sep 24, 2009 12:52 PM PDT up reply actions

lmao

giggity giggity goo

by DougChristieKO on Sep 24, 2009 9:44 PM PDT up reply actions

I have little to no hope for Beno

And unfortunately, I think he becomes an untradeable 5 million a year towel waver. Sergio is only here for a year, but I think he ends up being the backup to Easy ’Reke. His assist % rates are ridonkulous.

Honestly, Beno actually needs to work hard and show off his stuff in pre-season or he could see very little game time this year.

Father of the "Natt this!" movement and Grandmaster of the "Never let AnotherStupidSN forget what a Sham-Wow is" Order.

by Aykis16 on Sep 24, 2009 12:44 PM PDT reply actions

Tyreke and Beno

Initially I think that Beno has more at risk due to ‘Reke because it is pretty clear his first loss is likely as starter no matter what Westphal says. Tyreke and Beno have too similar of a game, but Tyreke is bigger, stronger, and probably faster and I don’t think Beno has a chance.

You are correct to jump right past that. I agree that the competition is likely going to come down to Sergio and Beno to see who back up Tyreke. It may come down to who matches up better against the other teams PG defensively…

by MustangMBS on Sep 24, 2009 12:50 PM PDT up reply actions

If Beno will play some D for a change

by MustangMBS on Sep 24, 2009 12:53 PM PDT up reply actions

Wow, I don't see how you can say Beno Udrih and Tyreke Evans "have too similar of a game"

Beno doesn’t defend, makes poor decisions, has his head in and out games, is nervous when defended closely, particularly around the basket, and has a decent jumper from mid range and 3 pt range.

by betweentheeyes on Sep 24, 2009 1:35 PM PDT up reply actions

Point taken - I meant this in a general way

I guess I would say that overall Beno’s game is not as a pass first PG. IMHO it seemed that he was most effective when he drove and passed out off penetration.

I think that is much different than being a pass first PG and I would have say that this is a general similarity both Tyreke and Beno have, but it may be the only one they have in common. My point being that is also Beno’s downfall because he isn’t likely to come close to being as successful as Tyreke at it.

Yeah, there are lots of other things he doesn’t do and that has to be considered. I guess I was just thinking of offense style and game flow.

by MustangMBS on Sep 24, 2009 2:24 PM PDT up reply actions

and its a point well taken

but we certainly hope that end result is nothing similar

So imitate the action of the tiger!.
Lend the eye a terrible aspect
- and teach them how to war!
Henry V iii

by lietothegirls on Sep 24, 2009 9:29 PM PDT up reply actions

Unfortunately

it seems to me that Beno is a very poor towel waver, given his lack of spirit. I think he’ll spend a lot of his 5 mil/year in beautiful suites and clothes to wear at the games in a couple of years.

"Even when I’m old and grey, I won’t be able to play it, but I’ll still love the game." — Michael Jordan

Go Kings!

by Panzerfaust on Sep 24, 2009 2:05 PM PDT up reply actions

I'm pretty sure he'll be on the bench and not in a suite

by hozr on Sep 25, 2009 4:58 PM PDT up reply actions

Kinda pouring gasoline on a bonfire, but

Beno makes 6, 6.5, 6.9 and 7.4(player option) million over the next 4 years. 5 mil looks like a great deal compared to that. yikes

Ball movement ... is like jogging for most people: They do it occasionally, and it makes them happy. Then they go back to not doing it. - Henry Abbott

by Kfan in Korea on Sep 24, 2009 2:06 PM PDT up reply actions

$27 million down the toilet, not counting last year. How many fewer games would the team have won if they pulled a 2 year, $6 million player off the scrap heap? It was just an idiotic decision all around.

by Carl on Sep 24, 2009 3:30 PM PDT up reply actions

Who is this Beno guy you speak of?

by ElRonToro on Sep 24, 2009 12:55 PM PDT reply actions

Beno No Bueno

From the people who brought you Reggie Musselnatt.

by My Losing Season on Sep 24, 2009 12:58 PM PDT reply actions

Maybe we can get the same stats

out of Beno, but now in only 15 minutes of game time. It seems like a lot of times I look at his stats after a game, and I think those aren’t bad percentages and rations for someone who plays 20 minutes. Then I scroll over, and he played 40 minutes that night. Then I think wtf did he do for the other 20 minutes???

He seems like he could be bibby-lite if he can find his stroke again.

by markdog333 on Sep 24, 2009 1:02 PM PDT reply actions

Now that I think about it...

Bibby-Lite is exactly how I’d describe Beno as he currently performs.

by unfair weather on Sep 24, 2009 2:43 PM PDT up reply actions

For Better Or Worse

I think Beno will be given the benefit of the doubt by coaches and management. I think the starting PG role will be his to lose. After he loses it (or rather Reke wins it (over under at 20 games)), I think Beno will be given a good shot as combo-guard-off-the-bench-guy (~18 min/game).

I could see him fitting in a few roles:

Of course, he could be used in his role last year as PG next to Martin.
He can be used in a backcourt with Reke when Kevin is off the floor, with Reke guarding the two.
He can be used with Cisco as a larger backcourt, depending on the opposition.
He could be used with Sergio in a small backcourt—defending the opposing 2 guard.

Of course, all of this is assuming he doesn’t wilt.

by DustyG on Sep 24, 2009 1:35 PM PDT reply actions

Nice/agreed.

Really, after last season, Beno has nowhere to go but up…hopefully.

October 28th couldn't come soon enough.

by JETisKing on Sep 24, 2009 6:12 PM PDT up reply actions

Wow...

5 days to training camp and 12 days to our first basketball game. I’m ready to see what these guys can do!!!

by markdog333 on Sep 24, 2009 1:48 PM PDT reply actions

Hope springs eternal, even in fall

I recall hearing Westphal talking about the pick-and-roll and how he thought Tyreke would thrive with both JT and Spence during summer league. I also recall hearing Beno say that he prefers a pick-and-roll based offense, and had trouble with Theus’ modified triangle, high post, “oh what the hell, just shoot” offense, and then the Natt, “wait, are we supposed to do something when we have the ball? offense”. Thus, is it possible that the coach might install an offense in which Beno can … dare I say it… thrive?

by longtimelistenerfirsttimecaller on Sep 24, 2009 3:23 PM PDT reply actions

Hmm...

I recall hearing Westphal talking about the pick-and-roll and how he thought Tyreke would thrive with both JT and Spence during summer league.

The pick and roll sort of requires the point guard to be able to shoot, no? Maybe Tyreke gets there, but it’ll be interesting to see how that works in the short term.

by Carl on Sep 24, 2009 3:32 PM PDT up reply actions

Both excellent points

and I’m more than interested to see what happens.

So imitate the action of the tiger!.
Lend the eye a terrible aspect
- and teach them how to war!
Henry V iii

by lietothegirls on Sep 24, 2009 9:32 PM PDT up reply actions

This is the last time I'm going to bang the Beno drum but I'll just remind you guys

that during the last month of the past season, Beno played at a fairly high level and really elevated his passing game and going from memory averaged over 6 dimes per game which surprisingly is pretty good. I said at the time and unfortunately have repeated it several times, that if he came back starting off the way he ended the season he was going to be hard to displace from his starting position.

Conceptually, that still remains true but the more I’ve learned about ‘Reke over the summer the less I think that will happen. Beno is going to wilt under ’Reke’s onslaught to earn the starter’s job rather than fight for his gig which is bad because the team needs him to be a credible, engaged, (highly overpaid) back up who Westphal can trust with minutes without the wheels coming off.

I’m still not sure Sergio is the answer, Portland essentially paid us to take him off their hands and threw in the money to pay Cake’s salary as well. Sergio’s in the last year of his contract and unless he blows the FO away I don’t expect to see him back. If he plays as well as many here hope, we won’t be able to afford him given the increasing reality of Beno’s contract. As easy as he is bash, the Kings need Beno to play well, really well. If he is reduced to K9 (woof) level irrelevancy his contract is going to cripple this team for 4 more years.

"We are in the business of kicking butt and business is very, very good." - Charles Barkley

by Bluejohn on Sep 24, 2009 3:28 PM PDT reply actions

Its true - but the season was over by then

The Team was over by then.
I’m not angry with how Beno performed last year – just dissappointed.

Hopefully he is both and comes out fired up.

So imitate the action of the tiger!.
Lend the eye a terrible aspect
- and teach them how to war!
Henry V iii

by lietothegirls on Sep 24, 2009 9:36 PM PDT up reply actions

Beno, Beno, Beno

First year good, Second year bad, then good, then bad again, & finishing good. He came into camp out of shape the 2nd year and couldn’t perform as he had. Later, he got into shape and played well. Got hurt and had to deal with Natt, and played bad again. Finally, got over his injury, stopped fighting with Natt & ended the season strong.

After playing for his national team, I think he’ll recover from his knee injury and still be in shape his year. I expect him to play like the end of last year, by giving out 6 dimes and with limited scoring. Although, I believe his 3pt shoot will be back to the 2008 level. He’s going to give Serg all the competition he had handle. And, if he’s completely heald from his knee injury, Evans will have to play solid to take the starting job.

Maybe, I’m Hallucinating, but if I’m right we’re going to have a solid backcourt. I can see Beno as a solid backup PG, capable of starting when or if Evans is moved to the 2 guard spot. ( temporarily or perminently). Sergio is the player on the spot. He’s the one without a contract for 2010.

"If you don't have anything good to say, LIE" - Mom

by HighTops on Sep 24, 2009 4:04 PM PDT reply actions

All of you

Don’t know what your talking about. Beno is a friggin awesome player. He slashes, passes, shoots and defends. He is hard nosed on the Def. and a pain in the a$$ on the offense. Next to Kevin Martin, other teams are probably preparing for him, more then they are any other player on our team. He probably should have gotten a bigger pay-day from Geoff and furthermo……..

OK.. I can’t keep any more of this up without laughing..

OK.. I can’t keep any more of this up without laughing..Beno sucks!! Dude got payed, and quit playing!! I will never defend beno, but I will say that he saw VERY limited minutes in San Antonio, and only got one good year of playing time in Sacramento before he got payed entirely too much for what the kid can do. Beno is a GREAT back up PG, or a great back up to a back up PG, but certainly is no starter!! Let’s be honest, he lacks the experience, and we expected FAR to much out of the kid based on one year of play. If he was given less $ over 5 years, we probably wouldn’t have as much of a problem with him, but the fact that the dude is eating up 6Mil a year kills me. It just means we’re stuck with him. I could see Beno getting a bunch of minutes in late January and February, but only as a showecase to see if anybody is interested in taking him off our hands.

by ianeriley on Sep 24, 2009 4:19 PM PDT reply actions

I agree completely

with the fact that he gets minutes so that he can be traded. It is the only option. Trade him off as soon as he plays well. GP did that with Webber. He played a game scoring over 20 if I remember right and was gone the next day.

by MustangMBS on Sep 24, 2009 4:43 PM PDT up reply actions

Sergio Rodriquez

Beno is a Joke. Sergio Rodriquez will back up Tyreke Evans. Beno had his window and he blew it. Mark my words Serigo is the better back up for Tyreke.

by Beer_man on Sep 24, 2009 7:44 PM PDT reply actions

I think getting rid of Sergio has been the biggest mistake by the Blazers in quite a few years.

They were just afraid of Sergio disturbing the locker-room and going into Rudy´s head against Nate McMillan (Blazers coach).

I might be biased, because I´m Spanish. But I think I´m not.

I think Sergio will be your nicest surprise of the year by a large margin. Get ready to have fun.

If the mountain come to you, run. It´s a landslide.

by amlmart1 on Sep 25, 2009 6:12 AM PDT up reply actions

It's not a great situation for the Kings at back-up PG

If Beno doesn’t get minutes, his contract becomes totally unmovable and he becomes K9-II: The Sequel. On the other hand, if Sergio doesn’t get minutes, he’ll be disenchanted just like he was in Portland. It’s hard to know what to root for there.

From the people who brought you Reggie Musselnatt.

by My Losing Season on Sep 25, 2009 12:06 PM PDT up reply actions

Except if Sergio doesn't get minutes

he’s only here for a year anyway, and Portland basically paid for his contract. With Beno, we’re stuck if we don’t move him. I’d rather see Beno become useful than have Sergio blossom.

Father of the "Natt this!" movement and Grandmaster of the "Never let AnotherStupidSN forget what a Sham-Wow is" Order.

by Aykis16 on Sep 25, 2009 1:17 PM PDT up reply actions

Even though I like Sergio as a player more

Because Beno’s contract is just such a bad situation. Hopefully we can find a taker.

Father of the "Natt this!" movement and Grandmaster of the "Never let AnotherStupidSN forget what a Sham-Wow is" Order.

by Aykis16 on Sep 25, 2009 1:18 PM PDT up reply actions

Agreed on all points

From the people who brought you Reggie Musselnatt.

by My Losing Season on Sep 25, 2009 1:29 PM PDT up reply actions

Same Here

The longer Beno plays the worse for the Kings. Hopefully he will injured/traded/boughtout. Then the real PG of the future (Tyreke) will get more experience with the extra minutes. I bet in training camp also Tyreke will blow right by Beno everytime. And WOW Tyreke plays defense also. That will be differant for the Kings also.

by SoljaBear on Sep 26, 2009 4:12 PM PDT up reply actions

I hope Beno is awesome

I am so skeptical it isn’t funny, but please let Beno come out on fire. After some thought I just don’t think the Kings can afford another Kenny Thomas and Beno has to step up.

We need every player at the top of their game too damn bad for him to sit and check out.

by MustangMBS on Sep 24, 2009 8:57 PM PDT reply actions