Detroit finally has another backup point guard. The veteran Beno Udrih is the major support in their new season offense. While Reggie Jackson is out for a couple of weeks, Ish Smith and Udrih will play instead.
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The NBA team Detroit Pistons declared Monday evening that the veteran point guard Beno Udrih will be their backup point guard and waived Ray McCallum. Reggie Jackson will be inactive for the first few weeks of the season since he has a left knee injury.
The Vertical's Shams Charania took to Twitter Detroit Piston’s announcement.
Detroit has claimed Miami guard Beno Udrih off waivers, league sources tell The Vertical. Pistons get backup PG.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) October 24, 2016
According to CBS Sports, the Miami Heat gave Rodney McGruder the final roster spot last Saturday, paving the way for Udrih’s availability. Therefore, the Detroit Pistons took that opportunity and point guard Udrih became their vital backup. Suffice to say, the Pistons should be grateful for the Heat’s decision.
Prior to Udrih's recruitment, Detroit was in a serious spot for a guard depth, and the veteran Udrih fits the pick-and-roll system completely. Similar to point guard Ish Smith, who will set up in place of Jackson, Udrih is difficult to keep out of the paint with his pick-and-roll offensive style. Unlike Smith who goes all the way to the rim, point guard Udrih would rather pull up mid-range jumpers.
Michigan Live reported that the veteran point guard Udrih, 34, was waived by the Miami Heat because he lost a three-way competition for the team's final roster spot. Udrih holds an average score of 4.4 points and 2.5 assists in 36 games for Miami Heat in last season's game. The point guard Udrih was traded by Memphis in November.
Udrih is an NBA veteran who has played for over seven different teams since he entered the league in 2004. The highlight of Udrih's NBA career began in the 2010-2011 NBA season. In that season alone, he averaged a score of 13.7 points and 4.9 assists while starting all 64 games for the Sacramento Kings.
The veteran point guard Udrih has also won NBA titles twice in 2005 and 2007 with the San Antonio Spurs.
During an interview, last Saturday regarding the possibility of using the waiver wire to fill a need at point guard, Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy said that he is not expecting it. He emphasized that the organization did a pretty good job of surveying the league and they really don't expect that there's going to be anything there in the league that would stop them from making a move.
The Piston Detroit will face their first match against Toronto in their hometown on Wednesday.
