Beno Udrih Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Grizzlies Claim Beno Udrih Off Waivers

February 27th, 2014 at 11:51am CST by Chuck Myron

THURSDAY, 11:51am: Memphis has officially announced its waiver acquisition of Udrih.

WEDNESDAY, 4:13pm: The Grizzlies have claimed Beno Udrih off waivers, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Stein also notes that Metta World Peace has cleared waivers. Memphis absorbs Udrih’s minimum salary, and any giveback the point guard agreed to as part of a buyout agreement with the Knicks is now likely null and void. New York no longer owes Udrih any money, since Memphis has assumed his one-year contract.

World Peace is making slightly more than the minimum and has a player option for next season, so it was far less likely any team would put in a claim. World Peace is now a free agent, and his top choices are reportedly to sign with the Thunder, Spurs or Heat. It’s unclear if any of those teams has mutual interest. The Clippers are reportedly interested, though it appears their top priority is pursuing Danny Granger.

The Grizzlies add a cap hit of $884,293 to their books, likely pushing them over the luxury tax threshold. That wouldn’t have been the case if they had waited to sign Udrih as a free agent after he cleared waivers. The Nuggets and Wizards showed interest in trading for Udrih before the deadline, but we didn’t hear any reports about post-deadline interest in the 31-year-old point guard.

Memphis was willing to make a deadline trade that put the team slightly over the luxury tax, according to TNT’s David Aldridge, and that’s indeed what they appear to have done with their claim of Udrih. Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal believes the move signals a lack of confidence in rookie Nick Calathes to handle the backup point guard duties for the rest of the season (Twitter link).

Knicks, Beno Udrih Agree To Buyout

February 24th, 2014 at 3:59pm CST by Cray Allred

MONDAY, 3:59pm: The Knicks announced that the buyout is now official.

2:03pm: Udrih and the Knicks are expected to make the buyout official today, according to Sam Amick of USA Today (Twitter link).

SATURDAY, 5:22pm: Al Iannazzone of Newsday hears that the buyout has been agreed upon. (Twitter link). It is not yet known when the buyouts will be officially announced.

10:50am: A league source confirms with Howard Beck of Bleacher Report that the Knicks are working on a buyout of Udrih’s contract (Twitter link).

10:31am: In addition to the news that New York will buy out Metta World Peace‘s contract, a league source tells Ian Begley of ESPN New York that the team is in discussions to cut ties with Beno Udrih as well (Twitter link).

The veteran backup point guard was signed this offseason to a one-year deal worth roughly $884K. After dissatisfaction with his playing time, and finding himself the source of blame for the Knicks troubles from coach Mike Woodson, Udrih made and then revoked a trade request earlier this season. The Knicks were involved with a lot of talks that included the 31-year-old leading up to Thursday’s trade deadline, but ultimately couldn’t find a trading partner.

Udrih will likely look to catch on with a winning team in need of a backup point guard after clearing waivers. Udrih shares an agent with World Peace. Both are represented by Marc Cornstein of Pinnacle Management Corp., as you can see in our Agency Database.

Odds & Ends: Griffin, Knicks, Granger, Gordon

February 22nd, 2014 at 11:50pm CST by Cray Allred

The Cavs have quietly reached out to at least one alternative candidate for their GM opening outside of interim David Griffin, reports Jason Lloyd of The Akron Beacon Journal. However, Lloyd says ownership is giving Griffin a fair shot at the job based on how he performs the rest of the season, and won’t be generating rumors that could distract him from the task at hand. Here’s more from around the league:

Knicks Coach Mike Woodson confirmed to reporters, including Newsday’s Al Iannazzone, that the Knicks have agreed with both Metta World Peace and Beno Udrih on buyouts, but wouldn’t expound on the causes for either: “I can’t say anything went wrong,” Woodson said. “They weren’t in the rotations. I’m not going to linger on it. We’re buying them out.”
In a separate piece, Iannazzone says that the Knicks offseason can’t be as quiet as their trade deadline was, since the team will be trying to upgrade their roster around Carmelo Anthony, whom they hope to re-sign over the summer. Iannazzone thinks that the expiring contracts for Amar’e Stoudemire, Tyson Chandler, and Andrea Bargnani could become movable assets along with Raymond Felton and Iman Shumpert, who have already been involved in a lot of trade speculation.
While Danny Granger‘s buyout is still a “distinct possibility,” nothing is imminent, as the initial trade between the Sixers and Pacers is not yet official, tweets Ramona Shelburne of ESPN Los Angeles.
On a related note, Shelburne tweets that Ben Gordon‘s buyout talks with the Bobcats are progressing slowly as well.
A group post at Basketball Insiders looks at players that they think should have been, but weren’t traded before Thursday’s deadline. Iman Shumpert, Rajon Rondo, and Pau Gasol, made the list.
J.J. Barea told The Star Tribune that he didn’t want any of the trade rumors surrounding him leaving the Timberwolves before the recent trade deadline to come to fruition: “You never really want to get traded. I think I’m in a good situation here, and I think we have a good group of guys with a good staff.”

Atlantic Notes: Raptors, Davis, Collins, ‘Melo

February 22nd, 2014 at 3:12pm CST by Charlie Adams

Gerald Wallace has never been shy about voicing his opinions. He recently suggested to reporters, including Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald, that the trade deadline does not serve the same purpose that it used to:

“Now I don’t think it’s about teams trying to get better, or teams making trades to try and improve. Now it’s about teams trying to get rid of guys to get under the salary cap, or get under the luxury tax. It’s a different situation as trades go nowadays. Teams are all looking to save as much money as possible now.”

Let’s look at the latest from the Atlantic:

The Raptors wouldn’t be afraid to add a player who was waived in a buyout deal, but it would have to be the “right guy,” tweets Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders. The team currently rosters the league maximum 15 players, so they would need to release someone in order for anything to happen.
Glen Davis thought he was heading to the Clippers, but Kevin Garnett‘s effort to recruit the former LSU star to the Nets has him reconsidering his options, according to Kyler (Twitter links).
The Nets locker room would welcome the openly gay Jason Collins, writes Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News. However, Bondy notes that the team would prefer to land Davis.
Carmelo Anthony wasn’t thrilled the Knicks stood pat at the deadline, but he realizes front office decisions are out of his hands, reports Marc Berman of the New York Post.
Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com examines what a buyout deal would mean for Metta World Peace, Beno Udrih, and the Knicks. Earlier today, Frank Isola of the New York Daily News said each of the two players was close to reaching an agreement to part ways with New York.

Knicks Notes: Durant, Udrih, Buycks

February 21st, 2014 at 6:46pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Knicks didn’t pull off a deadline trade, so they will need to look to the future in their quest to surround Carmelo Anthony with other star caliber players. This is assuming of course that ‘Melo decides to return to New York next season. If the Knicks re-sign Anthony for the maximum salary this summer and ink another maximum-salary free agent in 2015, they probably won’t be able to afford Kevin Durant in 2016, as Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com explains.

Atlantic Notes: Stevens, Rondo, Udrih

February 20th, 2014 at 4:16pm CST by Zachary Links

Celtics GM Danny Ainge thought the Suns were going to hire Brad Stevens over the summer before he got the chance, writes the Boston Herald’s Steve Bulpett. “When Ryan McDonough went to Phoenix, you know, Ryan and I had talked a lot about how much we liked Brad Stevens,” said Ainge. “I thought Ryan was going to hire Brad to go coach the Suns, but he didn’t and he got a great coach in Jeff Hornacek.”

The Celtics have “just valued Rajon Rondo” more than any other club over the last eight years, Ainge told reporters, including Baxter Holmes of the Boston Globe (on Twitter). Of course, the C’s got a ton of calls on their star guard but wound up holding on to him through the deadline.
Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com (on Twitter) wouldn’t be surprised to see the Knicks negotiate a buyout with seldom-used guard Beno Udrih in the coming days.
The Knicks wound up standing pat at the deadline and Begley has the goods on what happened or, rather, what didn’t happen.

Knicks, Nuggets Close To Udrih, Hamilton Deal

February 20th, 2014 at 12:13pm CST by Chuck Myron

12:13pm: Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports puts the brakes on talks of a deal, reporting that the Nuggets are still considering several trades for Hamilton (Twitter link).

11:49am: The Nuggets have agreed to send Jordan Hamilton to the Knicks for Beno Udrih, having reached agreement on a deal that sends Andre Miller to Washington, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com. The Wizards were also targeting Udrih, but they landed Miller instead, opening the door for Udrih to go to Denver.

The deal came together from talks the Knicks and Nuggets had about an Iman Shumpert-for-Kenneth Faried swap. Denver resisted that deal, but was apparently more receptive to the swap of the smaller names.

Hamilton makes about $1.17MM this year, the third season of his rookie scale contract. The Nuggets declined his fourth-year option before the season, so he’ll be an unrestricted free agent this summer. Udrih is on a one-year deal for the minimum-salary.

Wizards Show Interest In Udrih, Miller

February 20th, 2014 at 8:20am CST by Chuck Myron

THURSDAY. 8:20am: The Wizards have offered Maynor, Singleton and Trevor Booker, among others, in their search for a backup point guard, according to Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders. Their interest in Udrih makes sense, since they offered him the same deal they wound up giving Maynor this past summer, Kennedy observes (Twitter links). Washington also made an identical offer to Mo Williams, Kennedy says, but he’s clearly not in the trade conversation.

FEBRUARY 19TH: The Wizards maintain their interest in Miller, tweets Jared Zwerling of Bleacher Report, who suggests Chris Singleton and Eric Maynor as possible trade bait for the Nuggets. It’s not clear whether the Wizards are thinking of including those guys in a deal, or if Zwerling is merely speculating.

FEBRUARY 11TH: Multiple reports in the past few days have indicated Washington’s interest in acquiring a backup point guard, and one of their primary targets is Beno Udrih, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Washington also covets Andre Miller, Stein tweets, but the Wizards have been unable to find a workable deal with the Nuggets.

Udrih quickly backed away last month from a report that he asked the Knicks to trade him. Still, New York didn’t seem averse to the idea at the time, and apparently the Knicks wouldn’t have minded receiving a second-rounder in return for Udrih, whom they believed was siphoning playing time from Toure’ Murry. Udrih hasn’t played since January 24th, while Murry has made five appearances in that span.

Though Nuggets GM Tim Connelly says the team has nothing “definitive” in the works for Miller, the Timberwolves still have an eye on the point guard, tweets Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities. Similarly, the Kings continue to express interest in Miller, according to Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders. I predicted that offers for Miller would improve closer to the deadline when I examined his trade candidacy last month.

Washington has been going with minimum-salary signee Garrett Temple as the backup to John Wall instead of Eric Maynor, whom the club used its biannual exception to sign this past summer.

Knicks, Nuggets Talk Udrih, Jordan Hamilton

February 20th, 2014 at 7:09am CST by Chuck Myron

THURSDAY, 7:09am: The swap of Udrih for Hamilton could depend on whether the Nuggets are able to unload Andre Miller, according to Begley and Stein’s latest piece.

WEDNESDAY, 8:02pm: The deal appears to be Udrih for Hamilton right now, with the Knicks yet to convince Denver to part with Faried, write ESPN’s Begley and Stein. In a separate tweet, Stein indicates that the Wizards are still interested in Udrih’s services and are lobbying the Knicks to switch trade partners.

FEBRUARY 19TH, 1:09pm: The Knicks are still making an effort to acquire Faried for Shumpert, tweets Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com, who also confirms that Hamilton and Udrih remain a part of the talks (Twitter links).

FEBRUARY 11TH, 5:02pm: According to Stein, a source close to the situation says that if talks were to progress into a serious stage, one likely scenario would involve Shumpert and Beno Udrih in exchange for Faried and swingman Jordan Hamilton. The issue, however, is that New York hasn’t been able to persuade Denver to consider the idea.

Faried’s $1.4M salary for 2013/14 makes it difficult to find a deal that would yield equal value, leading Stein to presume that Denver would require any potential trade partner to additionally take back a long-term contract. The Knicks are wary of making any moves that would hinder their cap flexibility in 2015, especially one that would involve taking back long-term money for short-term gain.

2:38pm: The Knicks are once more trying to pry Kenneth Faried from the Nuggets in exchange for Iman Shumpert after their initial push for such a trade failed in November, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com. Those talks fell through when Denver asked New York to include multiple draft picks, presumably including a first-rounder. The Knicks already owe this year’s first-round pick to the Nuggets from the Carmelo Anthony trade, and they can’t trade their 2015, 2016 or 2017 first-rounders, either.

A pair of reports from the last two days say the Nuggets are open to trading Faried, even though they deny it. Shumpert has largely remained out of rumors since a late-December meeting in which Knicks owner James Dolan told the team’s players that there would be no trades or coaching changes. Nevertheless, a report soon thereafter noted that New York’s front office was continuing to pursue deals.

The Knicks have also reportedly thrown Shumpert into a proposal to the Celtics for Rajon Rondo, but they were cool on talks to send him to the Raptors for Kyle Lowry. The Cavs and Lakers are among the teams that also have been linked to the defensive-minded wing. Ryan Raroque of Hoops Rumors examined Shumpert as a trade candidate in late November.

There’s been less chatter about Faried, but opposing GMs still expect the Nuggets to move him. He, like Shumpert, will be up for a rookie scale extension this summer, though Denver is reluctant to shell out significant money for the power forward.

Knicks, Clippers Discuss Iman Shumpert Deal

February 20th, 2014 at 7:02am CST by Chuck Myron

THURSDAY, 7:02am: The Knicks are pushing to revive the talks, Stein and Begley write. New York attempted to interest the Clippers in a compromise proposal that would have sent Barnes, instead of Bullock, along with Collison to New York for Shumpert and Felton, but the Clippers continue to be reluctant to take on Felton.

WEDNESDAY, 8:29pm: Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports confirms Aldridge’s report, tweeting that the talks between the Knicks and Clippers have “broken down and concluded.”

7:28pm: The proposed deal involving Shumpert, Felton and Collison is “not happening,” tweets David Aldridge of TNT, who adds that it’s unclear if talks can be revived before tomorrow. ESPN’s Marc Stein, also on Twitter, adds that Shumpert is only available in exchange for a first round pick or alongside Felton.

2:16pm: Jared Dudley is also in the conversation, according to Chris Broussard and Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com.

12:37pm: Two sources involved with the talks tell Ken Berger of CBSSports.com that a deal is unlikely (Twitter link).

12:17pm: The Knicks are most interested in the Felton-for-Bullock part of the exchange, according to Chad Ford of ESPN.com, who believes the Clippers would prefer to substitute Matt Barnes for Bullock, and would also want Beno Udrih rather than Felton.

11:35am: The Knicks and Clippers are in talks on a deal that would send Darren Collison to New York for Iman Shumpert and Raymond Felton, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. A deal isn’t close and the proposal is fluid, but the Clippers are interested in Shumpert, Wojnarowski writes. Clippers coach/executive Doc Rivers has expressed affection for Collison on several occasions this season, notes Sean Deveney of The Sporting News (Twitter link), so perhaps his inclusion could become a stumbling block. Reggie Bullock is also a part of the talks, according to Frank Isola of the New York Daily News (on Twitter).

Such a deal would help the Knicks upgrade their point guard position and the Clippers get better on the wing, both goals the teams have sought to achieve. The return of Chris Paul makes Collison somewhat expendable, Wojnarowski notes, in spite of Rivers’ affection for his backup point guard. The trade would also help the Clippers offset the loss of J.J. Redick, who’s out indefinitely with back trouble.

Presuming it’s a two-for-two proposal at this point of Bullock and Collison for Felton and Shumpert, the Clippers would have to include another player to make the salaries match. Unless it’s someone on a long-term deal, the trade would appear to help New York’s plans for the summer of 2015, as none of the players who would head to the Knicks have guaranteed salary beyond 2014/15. Felton’s contract includes an approximately $3.95MM player option for 2015/16.