Being in unfamiliar territory is always a challenge.
Part of playing in the NBA is understanding that it’s a business, but that doesn’t make moving to a new city any easier to handle. That is likely what the two newest HEAT players, Beno Udrih and Jarnell Stokes, are experiencing right now. While that may be the case, both are fortunate enough to have someone on the team they are familiar with.
For Udrih, it’s fellow Slovenian Goran Dragic. In Stokes’ case, he has former teammate Josh Richardson to lean on for advice. It’s not very often that teams pull off trades that involve players who have connections quite like this.
In particular, Stokes and Richardson have gotten to know each other pretty well over the years. Both played against and with each other in AAU ball before becoming teammates in college and now once more in the NBA. As you’d expect, the guys made plans the second Stokes got into town.
“The first day I was here, we were supposed to go out to eat, but I had a 6AM physical so the next day we caught up right after practice,” Stokes said. “It’s a great experience just having a former teammate here. He knows how I play; I know how he plays. He knows the organization well, so I’m able to ask him questions.”
Stokes has had quite a unique journey up until this point. The HEAT expressed interest in him leading up to the 2014 Draft and had him fly in for a workout. While on his way to the airport to head to Miami, Stokes’ limo got into a car crash in Bradenton. As a result from the accident, Stokes suffered a concussion, which kept him out for about 10 days.
Stokes ended up being drafted 35th overall by the Utah Jazz and was traded to the Memphis Grizzlies on draft night. The forward has a pretty long wingspan and has the potential to be a solid low-block scorer. On Thursday before the HEAT’s game against the Jazz, the former Volunteer expressed interest in learning under Udonis Haslem. Having seen Stokes develop as a player, perhaps nobody knows him as well as Richardson does.
“[I think his biggest strength is] his body,” Richardson said. “[He’s a] huge, physical presence. He’s a tenacious rebounder. Even today (Saturday) at practice he had a couple of big rebounds and put-backs.”
Like in the case of Stokes and Richardson, Udrih and Dragic have played together before as well. The two were on the Slovenia National team for the 2006 FIBA World Championship. Outside of his international experience, Udrih has also played 11 years in the NBA. Dragic lauded the point guard for his wealth of experience and demeanor on the court.
“He’s already [won] a championship with San Antonio so he’s got a lot of experience. Of course, that’s good minutes,” Dragic said. “He’s a really decent player; he can play and he’s a great court leader who makes the right plays and he brings you that calmness.”
With Dwyane Wade out of the lineup on Thursday against Utah, Udrih received some playing time right away and tallied two points, three rebounds and an assist in 17 minutes of action.
“I was just trying to go out there and do the best I could,” Udrih said. “I was focusing more on defense rather than offense. But, you know, I like the system here, especially in the offense. It’s about reading and playing together so I felt pretty comfortable out there. With a couple practices now under my belt, I’m going to go out there with even more confidence so it could be even better.”
It remains to be seen how much Udrih or Stokes ends up playing this season. One thing about Erik Spoelstra this season is that he has stuck with whichever lineup is hot on any given night. Regardless of what happens, it’s always great to have players on the team who are close.
“Of course, every time when he (Udrih) was in my city or I was in his city, we always go to dinner, but now it’s going to be much easier [since] we are playing together,” Dragic said. “It’s always nice to have somebody that you can talk your native language [to] and brings you that familiar face back.”
