http://www.yardbarker.com/content/player/4751 Recent articles about Beno Udrih en-us With baseball's playoff hunt in full effect and the NFL preseason underway, what better time than now to make some projections..for the NBA! Rosters are beginning to take formation as free agents join their new clubs, trades are consumated, and rookies settle in with their new squads. I've provided my projected records for the coming season along with last year's overall records. Please feel free to comment with your opinions. 1) Los Angeles Lakers - Projection (60 -22) - Last Season (57-25) - A healthy Andrew Bynum along with a younger corps than the Celtics make them the team to beat in the coming season. 2) Boston Celtics - Projection (58-24) - Last Season (66-16) - Defending champs have an aging but spectacular corps. Expect another step back from Ray Allen. The loss of Posey and potentially PJ Brown won't be as significant as many media heads are making them out to be. 3) New Orleans Hornets - Projection (58-24) - Last Season (56-26) - Chris Paul, David West, and Tyson Chandler are three young studs that will keep the Hornets relevant for years to come. Continue Reading At PCPSPORTS.COM... Fri, 08 Aug 2008 10:16:44 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/303003 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/303003 There wasn't a lot of activity on the first day that free agents could officially sign, but there were a few signings and a bit of speculation going on around the league. ESPN reports that Andrew Bogut came to an agreement with the Bucks and will sign a five-year, $72.5 million extension later this week. Big men are at a premium and when you think about it, the Celtics got a real bargain when they signed Perk for just over $4 million a year. Elton Brand made it official on Wednesday when he signed with the Sixers to a five-year deal worth a reported $82 million. The Warriors has offered $90 million but he felt that the Sixers were a better fit. This immediately elevates the Sixers to contender status. First, the Celtics-Lakers rivalry was revived and it looks as though this season we could see the Celtics-Sixers rivalry revived. Who could forget the classic games between the Bird led Celtics and the Dr J led Sixers. We could see some great battles between KG and Brand or Pierce and Iguodala. Now all we need is for the Knicks to get it together. The Clippers now turn to Josh Smith and Emeka Okafor. The LA Times reports that Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy had dinner with Smith and that they have also contacted Okafor. The Pacers and Raptors completed the trade that sent center Rasho Nesterovic, point guard TJ Ford, forward Maceo Baston and the draft rights to center Roy Hibbert to the Pacers for O'Neal and the draft rights to forward Nathan Jawai. I think this is a good trade for both teams. Also Wednesday, the Raptors officially announced the re-signing of restricted free agent guard Jose Calderon. The Atlantic Division is going to have to be reckoned with this season. They definitely aren't the Titanic division any more. The Pacers also completed another trade That sent the draft rights to guard Jarryd Bayless and Ike Diogu to Portland for Jarrett Jack, Josh McRoberts and the draft rights to Brandon Rush along with some cash. After sending Pau Gasol to the Lakers in one of the most lopsided trades in league history, the Grizzlies are at least trying to reclaim some small level of respectability by signing Pau's younger brother, Marc Gasol, to a contract on Wednesday so that they can at least say they got something from the trade. I guess the Nets were having trouble getting fans to watch so they traded for Yi hoping to draw Chinese fans to the team. According to ESPN: "We do have a tremendous Chinese-American market in the New York and New Jersey area," Ratner said. "If we have success on the court, we can tap into that market in a huge way." The acquisition of Yi, 20, has already drawn considerable attention from the Chinese community, both in the United States and China. Wednesday's news conference to introduce the players brought the largest turnout of Chinese print and broadcast media the team has seen in recent years. The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports that they are still in the mix for James Posey. They also report that Posey's agent, Mark Bartlestein, said that Powey is likely to sign a multi-year deal in a day or two. Teams vying for Posey's services include the Celtics, Lakers, Hornets, Wizards, Cavsm, Spurs and Rockets. Posey has said that he would like to return to Boston and reports are that Danny has offered him a 4 year MLE contract. But, Cleveland is is home stomping grounds and he would be playing along side LeBron. He lives in Texas in the off season and that may give the Spurs or Rockets a boost. But with the Spurs signing Roger Mason Jr to a 2 year, $7.5 million contract, that will probably take them out of the running. Also, if any team is offering 5 years at the MLE, that may be enough to get him to leave Boston. We should know in a day or two. TrueHoop has an interesting article about Darius Miles and the 10 day suspension for violating the league's drug policy. It would appear that the suspension was for performance enhancing drugs and there may be some shenanigans going on with the release of the information about the suspension and the suspension itself. The Blazers have a lot to gain if Miles isn't signed by a team as if he plays in 10 games this season, they are on the hook for the remainder of his $27 million salary. Pretty interesting stuff. The Kings re-signed Beno Udrih to a multi-year contract along with their second round picks Sean Singletary and Patrick Ewing, Jr. The Heat signed their second round pick, Mario Chalmers. Teams are all signing second round picks now and the Celtics haven't even been able to sign their first round pick. But, that could have something to do with the fact that Marc Bartlestein represents Giddens, Posey, House and Pollard and the Celtics are waiting to see what happens with Posey before making any other moves. The Mavs have re-signed Jose Juan Barea for 3 years at 1.5 million per year with 2 years guaranteed. They also re-signed DeSagana Diop. Diop is a nice young player and I wouldn't have minded seeing him in Celtics green. The Mavs were smart to get him re-signed early. The Nets have signed their second round pick, Chris Douglas-Robertsm, a player that many Celtics fans wanted their team to take with the 30th pick on draft night. Another player the Celtics were looking at signing, Tyronn Lue, is close to signing with the Suns according to the Arizona Republic. Maybe the Suns have finally found their back up point guard. Marcus Banks clearly wasn't the answer as they had hoped when they traded the rights to Rajon Rondo to Boston. Think they'd like to take that trade back? Brent Barry is off the Sun's wish list but they are still in the market for a wing and Darius Miles and Devon Brown are possibilities. The Suns' medical staff examined forward Darius Miles on Wednesday. The Wizards signed Utah Jazz restricted free agent point guard Dee Brown to an offer sheet for a two-year, partially guaranteed deal. Utah has one week to match the offer. According to the SacBee, the Lakers already have contacted the Kings regarding Artest and are believed to be offering forward Lamar Odom. Sources say that the Kings may insist on forward Kenny Thomas and his $18 million of remaining salary (over two seasons) being included in that potential trade. Thu, 10 Jul 2008 10:17:45 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/288509 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/288509 Keep searching Knicks and Clippers, the Kings signed the coveted PG and one of the top free agents to a 5 year mid-level exception less than a day after he bacame a free agent. The mid-level was the highest the Kings could offer and Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy met with him in New York after the deadline passed last night. The Knicks were also in the running for him with Stephon Marbury on his way out. "I am so happy and honored to be returning to the Kings," Udrih told ESPN.com. "They took a chance on me and believed in me. I can't wait to get back to my teammates and the city that has become home to me." Don't let anyone tell you he's not a worthy starting point guard, after getting traded from the Spurs and cut in training camp from Minnesota, he came to the Kings with a broken shooting hand (left) and averaged 12.4 PPG, 4.3 APG, and shoots 46% from the field. He filled in the starting role coming off of a long term injury, came off the bench when Mike Bibby returned and started again when Bibby was traded. He's proven that he can play at the NBA level and the Spurs are kicking themselves for trading him away. He had everything to prove and he proved it. Udrih was the #3 unrestricted point guard available behind Gilbert Arenas and Baron Davis this off-season and now he's gone within 24 hours. The Kings were fresh out of point guards before drafting Sean Singletary. All I can say is, thanks for staying Beno, see you here next season! Tue, 01 Jul 2008 16:06:22 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/284722 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/284722 The Slovenian national basketball team could probably be pretty good. Certainly not on the level of the US, or even Argentina and Spain, but they certainly could be pretty good in the sense that Germany, France, Lithuania, Greece and China are pretty good. Their only problem? It seems to be apathy, as many of their best players have declined to play in this month's Olympic qualifier. Tue, 01 Jul 2008 09:20:20 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/284574 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/284574 In this article, the Roster Doctor takes a look at NBA Free Agents and tries to find out which guys may gain the most value through their impending move to a new team. Gilbert Arenas will be Gilbert Arenas wherever he goes, but what about the other guys that may see a significant spike if they move this offseason? Mon, 30 Jun 2008 21:19:14 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/284423 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/284423 1. Gilbert Arenas, Wizards: Arenas has turned himself into a max player over the past few years and, despite recent knee troubles, will likely cash in on his newfound celebrity status. While he continues to maintain publicly that his first choice is to re-sign with Washington, it's possible that, given his eccentricity, he could change his mind. The biggest issue for Arenas is the same one that plagues all the free agents: Who else has the money to pay him? I can't see the 76ers or Grizzlies spending the cash. The Clippers would have interest, but Arenas already spurned them once. 2. Corey Maggette, Clippers: Maggette has been on the trading block for years and appears eager to bolt the Clippers. He's making $7 million next season and should be due a raise. Teams will be out in force trying to get him, but most will have only the midlevel exception to offer -- which would mean he'd be taking a pay cut. A sign-and-trade is the most likely option, with the Phoenix Suns looking like the team most interested in him. They could offer a swap of Leandro Barbosa that may interest L.A. 3. Antawn Jamison, Wizards: Jamison is still putting up big scoring and rebounding numbers at the age of 32. He even made a surprise appearance at the All-Star Game this past season. Washington will likely try to lock him up, and should have the best shot to do so. With teams capped out, which team is going to spend all of its money on a 32-year-old? 4. DeSagana Diop, Nets: He's only 25, but five points and five boards are about all you're going to get from him. Still, he's big and he plays good defense … meaning some team will blow its midlevel exception on him. I think Dallas is the front-runner to give him a ridiculous deal. 5. Beno Udrih, Kings: The Kings were impressed enough with his play that they felt no remorse in letting Mike Bibby go. But will they be able to keep him? As the only decent unrestricted point guard on the market, Udrih is drawing a lot of interest. Expect him to get multiple offers for the full midlevel from a number of teams desperate for a point guard. I'd put the Clippers at the top of the list. 6. Kurt Thomas, Spurs: He's 35 years old, but still tough enough to help just about any title contender. The Spurs got him in a steal of a deal at the trade deadline. Look for them to try to lock him up with a three-year deal this summer. 7. James Posey, Celtics: Posey helped himself with a strong performance against the Lakers in the Finals. He's another player who should get a three- to four-year midlevel deal somewhere. 8. Mickael Pietrus, Warriors: No one is sure why the Warriors didn't play Pietrus more. He's one of the most athletic defenders in the league and he's a solid 3-point shooter. Some team will pick him up and try to use him in a Bruce Bowen-type role. 9. Ricky Davis, Heat: The talented but troubled swingman hasn't helped his cause in his second tour with Miami. Pat Riley thought, after dumping him the first time, that Davis finally had the maturity to play for him. But Riley is clearly reassessing the situation. Davis looks like a midlevel-or-below type of player. I doubt he returns to the Heat. 10. Kwame Brown, Grizzlies: The former No. 1 pick has run out of excuses. Yes, he's huge, athletic and only 25 years old. But after seven years in the league, he's yet to prove that he's anything more than a backup. Someone will pay him something, but no one is expecting much. Mon, 30 Jun 2008 08:32:14 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/284096 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/284096 ESPN's Chad Ford ranks his top NBA free agents for the summer. Mon, 30 Jun 2008 07:45:39 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/284080 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/284080 I'm a small/medium jersey, Greg. Just in case you need to get it pulled out and ironed and stuff. :-) P.S. Your T-Blazers are gonna knock it outta the park next season regardless of who you get. Stay away from the pick-up ball. Vegas is right around the corner :-) Thu, 26 Jun 2008 05:11:03 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/282506 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/282506 New Orleans power forward David West is the real deal, atleast in my opinion. Out of Xavier this guy is a huge piece to the puzzle of a Hornets team that finished 2nd in the Western Conference this year. West had a career game against the Spurs in the 5th of the series putting up 38 points and grabbing 14 rebounds. This year was his only All Star appearance but I believe he has many more to come. Anyone disagree? Thu, 15 May 2008 19:27:12 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/267470 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/267470 Over the next five weeks, I will go position by position and rank the top 30 players by total value. The NBA is a business, so it doesn't make sense to purely rank the players only by their talent or stats, or by some other qualitative measure (though those factors do matter). We must also look at a player's salary relative to his peers. Obviously, if a player is in the middle of a very reasonable contract, he'll get a boost in the rankings. To summarize a player's stats, I'll use the NBA Efficiency statistic, which is defined as: EFF = ((Points + Rebounds + Assists + Steals + Blocks) - ((Field Goals Att. - Field Goals Made) + (Free Throws Att. - Free Throws Made) + Turnovers)) I'll list Efficiency Per Game (EPG) for each player, which will give a nice snapshot of his stats. To compare two players that get vastly different minutes, I'll occasionally mention Efficiency Per Minute (EPM), which is simply the player's total efficiency divided by his minutes. I'll also consider a player's age and potential. All else being equal, a franchise would probably prefer a 25 year-old point guard to a 32 year-old point guard, right? Essentially, the order of this list comes down to this question – would you trade Player X for Player Y, assuming the goal is to win a title in the next three seasons at a reasonable payroll? To summarize, there are four major factors I'll consider: talent (statistical performance), contract, age and potential. Without further adieu, here are the top 30 point guards, ranked by total value: 1. Chris Paul, Hornets Age: 23 EPG: 27.8 Contract: two years, $10.6 M ($5.3 M per) Not only has Paul emerged as hands-down the best point guard in the game, he is still on his rookie contract, so he's a bargain to boot. 2. Deron Williams, Jazz Age: 23 EPG: 23.0 Contract: two years, $11.8 M ($5.9 M per) Williams is bigger and stronger than Paul, and is also a better outside shooter. But Paul has the edge in quickness, ball handling and court vision. 3. Tony Parker, Spurs Age: 25 EPG: 16.9 Contract: three years, $37.7 M ($12.6 M per) Parker is young, speedy and a proven player in the clutch. Plus, his salary is fairly reasonable for a player of his caliber. His defense is mediocre at best. (See the rest of the list after the jump.) Mon, 12 May 2008 14:33:45 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/266125 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/266125 Chris Paul is for real. He lead the New Orleans Hornets from no playoffs the year before to the 2 spot in the highly competitive West. He's extremely dangerous to other teams when it comes to decison making. From pulling up for a jumper, to driving in the lane to dishing it back out to an open teammate, they're all possibilities for him in just one play. He is the best point guard in the NBA. Player (Current Team/Former Team) PPG, RPG, APG, SPG * = Best in Category (R) = Rookie Steals 1+ Shown 1. Chris Paul (NOH) 21.1, 4, 11.6*, 2.7* 2. Baron Davis (GSW) 21.8*, 4.7, 7.6, 2.3 3. Deron Williams (UTA) 18.8, 3, 10.5, 1.1 4. Tony Parker (SAS) 18.8, 3.2, 6 5. Steve Nash (PHX) 16.9, 3.5, 11.1 6. Gilbert Arenas (WAS) 19.4, 3.9, 5.4, 1.8 (13 Games) 7. Chauncey Billups (DET) 17, 2.7, 6.8, 1.3 8. Jason Kidd (DAL/NJN) 10.8, 7.5*, 10.1, 1.7 9. Andre Miller (PHI) 17, 4, 6.9, 1.3 10. Mo Williams (MIL) 17.2, 3.5, 6.3, 1.2 11. Jamal Crawford (NYK) 20.6, 2.6, 5, 1 12. Raymond Felton (CHA) 14.4, 3, 7.4, 1.2 13. Jamaal Tinsley (IND) 11.9, 3.6, 8.4, 1.7 (39 Games) 14. Jose Calderon (TOR) 11.2, 2.9, 8.3 1.1 15. Rafer Alston (HOU) 13.1, 3.5, 5.3, 1.3 16. Rajon Rondo (BOS) 10.6, 4.2, 5.1, 1.7 17. Devin Harris (NJN/DAL) 14.8, 2.7, 5.8, 1.4 18. Kirk Hinrich (CHI) 11.5, 3.3, 6, 1.2 19. T.J. Ford (TOR) 12.1, 2, 6.1, 1.1 20. Beno Udrih (SAC) 12.8, 3.3, 4.3 21. Derek Fisher (LAL) 11.7, 2.1, 2.9, 1 22. Mike Bibby (ATL/SAC) 13.9, 3.3, 6, 1.1 23. Jameer Nelson (ORL) 10.9, 3.5, 4.6 24. Sam Cassell (BOS/LAC) 11.2, 2.5, 3.9 25. Nate Robinson (NYK) 12.7, 3.1, 2.9 26. Louis Williams (PHI) 11.5, 2.1, 3.2, 1 27. Daniel Gibson (CLE) 10.4, 2.3, 2.5 28. Delonte West (CLE/SEA) 8.3, 3.2, 3.8, 1 29. (R) Mike Conley (MEM) 9.4, 2.6, 4.2 30. Kyle Lowry (MEM) 9.6, 3, 3.6, 1.1 Just Missed It Ramon Sessions (MIL) 11.5, 4.9, 11.3, 1.5, (10 Games April) Antonio Daniels (WAS) 8.4, 2.9, 4.8, 1 Sebastian Telfair (MIN) 8.3, 2.3, 5.9, 1 Just a few things to say before I wrap this up. Jamal Crawford, he's a shooting guard running the point. He did pretty good, but Nate Robinson really should have taken that spot, and he might get that chance with Mike D'Antoni heading to New York and Marbury possibly opting out or getting traded. In fact a lot of players in the NBA are going to get their chance to shine in the NBA soon. A lot of the star veterans are nearing retirement. Players like Steve Nash, Chauncey Billups, Allen Iverson, Shaq, Dirk Nowitzki, even Shawn Marion turned 30 a few days ago. Soon they'll start to break down and eventually retire, making room for the younger guys to take charge. In a few years, the NBA's going to be a whole differnt game. Mon, 12 May 2008 13:19:10 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/266095 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/266095 Better late than never. The Kings took the season series 2-1 and Artest was the big hero from deep in the end, hitting 4 clutch 3 pointers to help the Kings knock the Hornets out of first place for the second time. The Kings are doing their part in the playoffs, even though they aren't in it. Sun, 13 Apr 2008 23:11:29 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/236522 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/236522 The Kings, led by John Salmons took the season series 3-1 and handed the Blazers one of their more dismal road losses of the year, and Josh McRoberts made an appearance. Plus, in honor of Brad Miller undergoing surgery, the team wore headbands. Check out the pics in the comments. Sat, 12 Apr 2008 10:32:28 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/235853 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/235853 Even though Melo dropped 47 points, 21 in the 4th quarter, that couldn't stop the Kings, playing without 3 starters and their top scorer playing sick, from feeling a mile high after holding off Denver for their 36th win. The Nuggets could lose the 8 spot if the Warriors win today. Sun, 06 Apr 2008 11:17:52 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/230222 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/230222 Wow Ron! Thanks for the news flash. Although it's being blown out of proportion because he said it, no one's saying he's wrong. They matched last years total with 33 wins, with 9 games left, so there is improvement. "We're definitely better than last year – easily," he said. "We have 33 wins, and we've been through so much." Staying on that they've definitely gotten better than before. John Salmons has improved after starting 35 games and is starting to find his place on the bench. Francisco Garcia has been a consistent scorer, and a clutch one too. Both scoring +11 PPG. Spencer Hawes showed that he was definitely the right pick at #10. In his first start vs. Memphis he grabbed career highs of 19 points and 12 rebounds to go with 3 blocks and 2 assists. Can't forgert about Beno Udrih. He was a miracle to find after the Spurs traded and the T'Wolves cut him, the talent on him is amazing. A lot of bad stuff has happened though. The Kings had long term injuries to Artest, leading scorer Kevin Martin (23.4 PPG), and Mike Bibby before he got traded. Throw in a rookie coach, a brand new staff and no point guard at the beginning of the year, it wouldn't be easy getting into the playoffs in the first place. They didn't even win their first road game until the 10th try. They're also 2-10 in their division, beating the Lakers in L.A. and the Warriors at home. Artest and his antics have toned down. He did serve a 7 game suspension at the beginning of the year. The Justin Williams fiasco was pretty bad, especially whn there was no case at the to start with. They've beaten some of the best teams in the NBA but lost to the league's worst. For every thing that the team's done, there's a counterbalence to offset to what they've done. With 9 games left until the off-season begins, they'll have to do their best finish out the year on a good note. Mon, 31 Mar 2008 13:29:37 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/225188 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/225188