Pistons look at point-guard options after Udrih injury

Memphis — Following Sunday night’s win over the Memphis Grizzlies, Beno Udrih sat at his locker with his head down, a black wrap around his right knee.

He spoke in muffled tones, when asked about the condition of his knee. He said he hurt it when his left foot slipped and in trying to gain his balance, he hurt the right knee. The injury happened with just under six minutes left in the game and Udrih was a catalyst, with 11 points and five assists.

It also could turn out to be his last game in a Pistons uniform.

Shams’ Charania, of Yahoo’s The Vertical, reported Monday morning that the Pistons were looking into releasing Udrih and signing point guard Lorenzo Brown from their D-League affiliate, the Grand Rapids Drive.

A league source told The News on Monday that the deal with Brown was complicated by details and later confirmed that the switch could not be made because the NBA deadline for waiving players had passed.

Charania later reported that Brown had planned to join the Pistons, but the sides were unable to complete the transaction.

As the third point guard for most of the season, Udrih was solid, posting 5.8 points and 3.4 assists in 39 games. His production jumped in the last seven games, when he was playing backup point guard to Ish Smith, after Reggie Jackson was shut down for the remainder of the season. In his last seven outings, Udrih posted 8.1 points and 5.4 assists in about 18 minutes per game.

Van Gundy was concerned about whether Udrih would be able to finish the season because of the injury, but didn’t have the complete details about how severe it was.

“I think he did something,” Pistons coach-president Stan Van Gundy said Sunday night. “I’m not optimistic that we’ll have him these last two games.”

With Reggie Jackson shut down for the remainder of the season, the Pistons’ options appear to be limited. They are considering using Darrun Hilliard or Stanley Johnson as an emergency point guard, but bringing Jackson back to play the final two games was unlikely.

“It’s hard because we’ve had that plan with him and now to say get ready, his mind has been in a different place for a few days,” he said. “We haven’t talked about it as a staff, but I don’t think we’ll go back to that.”

rod.beard@detroitnews.com

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