Udrih A Natural Fit In Sacramento

As had happened before the trade, there was plenty of water-cooler talk and perhaps some controversy when the Sacramento Kings traded former point guard Mike Bibby to the Atlanta Hawks; their replacement, Beno Udrih, has more than lived up to the task of replacing Bibby at the 1-guard. While there was a time and place for Jason Williams (a good fit back when Rick Adelman was the coach) and Bibby (slick-shooting, but perhaps without the skill set that Udrih possesses), the time is now, especially since the Kings are going once again to the NBA lottery. The time is now meaning that the Kings need to re-sign Udrih to a long-term contract.

Udrih does what neither Williams or Bibby did during their time in Sacramento - he drives aggressively into the paint, draws defenders, and dishes the ball off to other players for high-percentage shots. That’s not to say that he can’t shoot the rock, because he most certainly can. He excels at the pick-and-roll and also curls to the basket for mid-range jumpers, so shooting the ball isn’t a chink in his armor. The bottom line is that he doesn’t have a “glaring” weakness to his game.

Not to mention that since the trade of Bibby, Udrih has actually improved; perhaps one thing he can improve on is his leadership qualities, as instead of voicing on-the-court complaints to his teammates, he tends to talk to coach Reggie Theus. But that will change over time. And any pressure that Udrih is experiencing in his new role as the Kings’ starting point guard, he doesn’t visibly show it to the public. And last but certainly not least, he, at least for this season, came on the cheap.

His salary for this season is a modest $788,936 - a bargain in this day and age of high-priced, overrated point guards. but you can expect that to change when talks between Udrih’s reps and Kings management begin to heat up in earnest right after the season ends. Even though the Kings exceed the salary cap, they can - and should - offer Udrih part or all of the mid-level exception available to the team, which could stretch into 5 years and average anywhere between $5-6 million per season, give or take a few dollars. So if the Kings were smart, they’d take advantage of signing Udrih ASAP, because other teams will if they don’t - and that would be a dirty shame.