Detroit Pistons: Why did the Pistons sign Beno Udrih?

The Detroit Pistons spent all preseason having Lorenzo Brown and Ray McCallum face off for the third point guard spot. So why did they sign Beno Udrih?

This signing by the Detroit Pistons comes after the training camp battle between Ray McCallum and Lorenzo Brown, effectively throwing all the work those two did with the team out the window in favour of bringing in a brand new player just days before the season.

For the Pistons to shake things up like this despite having two solid enough temporary backup point guards to choose from, you’d imagine Beno Udrih must offer a huge upgrade that is impossible to pass on.

However, based on last season’s stats the reality is Udrih is strikingly similar to McCallum, Brown and last year’s backup, Steve Blake.

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Udrih played 44 games last season, spending just eight with the Memphis Grizzlies and 36 with the Miami Heat.

Across both teams he averaged 4.7 points, 2.6 assists, 1.2 turnovers, 34.1 percent from three-point range and 43.4 percent from the field in 16.1 minutes per game.

These are okay numbers and his solid shooting numbers from three and from the field in general would have certainly been appealing to Stan Van Gundy.

But when comparing these numbers with those of Steve Blake last season, they’re not incredibly different.

Blake averaged 4.4 points, 3.4 assists, 1.4 turnovers, 34.4 percent from three and 38.8 percent from the field in 17.0 minutes across 58 games.

As you can see from the numbers both players were incredibly similar, with the only significant differences being Blake’s superior assist numbers and Udrih’s much better field goal percentage.

Blake became the Pistons’ whipping boy las season, but the reality is he would probably perform just as well, if not better, than Udrih could as the backup point guard.

The only benefit Udrih has over Blake is his shooting from the field, so would it have not been smarter to just re-sign Steve Blake, who already has an understanding of the offence and defence Van Gundy is running?

Ray McCallum who was cut in favour of Udrih had relatively similar numbers last season too.

He played 41 games across last season, appearing 31 times for the San Antonio Spurs and 10 times for the Memphis Grizzlies.

McCallum averaged 3.3 points, 1.5 assists, 0.6 turnovers, 35.7 percent from three and 37.7 percent from the field in 11.6 minutes per game.

These numbers are mostly much lower than Udrih’s and Blake’s, but this is likely caused by only receiving 8.3 minutes per game with the Spurs.

Once he joined the injury depleted Grizzlies he was given 21.9 minutes per game, which is much more in line with the minutes Udrih and Blake received.

While we only have a minuscule ten game sample size, McCallum averaged 6.9 points, 2.7 assists, 1.3 turnovers, 38.5 percent from three and 35.4 percent from the field.

With Memphis he outscored both Blake and Udrih while averaging less turnovers than Blake and a similar three-point percentage, as well as more assists than Udrih.

Looking at McCallum’s end to the season, it must have been tempting for Van Gundy to take a chance on him and may have played a big part in him initially beating Lorenzo Brown for the third point guard spot.

The big question is why did Van Gundy decide to go with Udrih seemingly out of nowhere?

The most obvious reason is reliability.

Udrih has been in the league for 12 years, whereas McCallum and Brown have only been in the league since 2013.

Reggie Jackson is not going to be out for too long so this backup role is only temporary.

Stan Van Gundy would mostly be concerned with his backup just being not completely terrible until Jackson is ready to come back, and with Udrih he has someone he likely can rely on.

Steve Blake was also never in the conversation to be re-signed as he was the ringleader of the worst bench unit in the NBA last season.

Perhaps if Reggie Jackson‘s knee issue had occurred closer to the Pistons being eliminated from the playoffs Steve Blake may have been considered, however at the time exploring new options for the third string point guard was a smart idea.

The biggest reason Udrih’s signing makes sense is the increased shooting he brings.

Why did the Detroit Pistons sign Beno Udrih?

By Brandon Marlow | Oct 25, 2016

The Detroit Pistons spent all preseason having Lorenzo Brown and Ray McCallum face off for the third point guard spot. So why did they sign Beno Udrih?

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