4:01pm: The Knicks have officially signed Udrih, the team announced today (Twitter link).
9:08am: The Knicks have reached an agreement on a one-year deal with point guard Beno Udrih, tweets Al Iannazzone of Newsday. As Iannazzone adds in a second tweet, Udrih will sign for the veteran's minimum, since that's all the Knicks can offer. ESPN.com's Marc Stein adds (via Twitter) that Udrih had a meeting scheduled with the Grizzlies today, but has cancelled it after deciding on New York.
Landing the 31-year-old Udrih looks like a major coup for the Knicks, who were initially viewed as a long shot due to their limited financial flexibility. Still, the team remained focused on Udrih, making him their top priority, and yesterday emerged as the favorites to sign him, as Marc Berman of the New York Post wrote.
Udrih spent last season with the Bucks and Magic, heading to Orlando in the deadline deal that sent J.J. Redick to Milwaukee. In 66 games overall, he averaged 8.2 PPG and 4.6 APG to go along with a 14.2 PER. In New York, he'll essentially take Jason Kidd's spot on the roster, complementing returning point guards Raymond Felton and Pablo Prigioni.
The agreement with Udrih almost certainly takes the Knicks out of the running for other point guards they've been linked to, such as Bobby Brown and Chris Duhon. The team will still have room for one more guaranteed salary on the 15-man roster, but another big man is a more likely addition.
Udrih, who is represented by Pinnacle Management Corp., will receive a 2013/14 salary of $1,272,279, the minimum for a player with his NBA experience. The Knicks will only have to pay $884,293 of that amount, while the rest will be covered by the league.
Yessss