Beno Udrih Says the New York Knicks Can Reach the NBA Finals

There’s a baffling amount of optimism and bravado coming out of the New York Knicks’ mouths this offseason. New point guard Beno Udrih believes the Knickerbockers can represent the Eastern Conference in the NBA Finals next June. Per the NY Post: “Udrih, the Knicks 31-year-old backup point guard who signed as a free agent last month, won two titles with the Spurs. Now he wants his new teammates thinking title from Day 1 of training camp, which begins Sept. 30. ‘I believe our team can go as far as going to the Finals,’ Udrih said at Ashe Stadium in his first remarks since signing. ‘We have to think like that from the first practice. We can be very good. It all depends how seriously we’re going to take it. We all believe we can go really far. And our goal from the beginning has to be win it all because we know we’re going to be in the playoffs. Our mentality from the first practice has to be: we want to win a championship.’ The Slovenian point guard got paid $7 million last season, but he had to ply his trade in Milwaukee and Orlando. Nevertheless, it was a surprise the Knicks got him for the $1.4 million veteran’s minimum. ‘I just want to be on a winning team,’ Udrih said. ‘The last couple of years I was with teams rebuilding. I was trying to bring them a winning mentality and it didn’t happen. Now I’m actually on a team where I can play basketball and help a team win instead of teaching young guys how to win.'”