Udrih's back is better, his pride wounded

It's not the perfect ending. Not by any stretch.

Beno Udrih was supposed to use the Kings to distance himself from the stigma of being soft, not to strengthen those perceptions that haunted him during his three seasons in San Antonio. Yet once again, he could sense the doubt surrounding him, the question of his toughness returning when an injury kept him out longer than some might have thought necessary.

Days before Udrih returned from a three-week absence with a lower back strain, Kings coach Reggie Theus said of his point guard, "I don't think anyone knows what's going on with him."

He wasn't alone in his confused sentiment, either, and it appeared quite clear that Udrih's reputation for being injury-prone had not left him just yet.

For Udrih – who missed just two games since his Kings debut Nov. 10 until March 16 – the comments might as well have come from Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, who said after Udrih was traded to Minnesota in October that "when he did get opportunities, he seemed to be injured."

Yet unlike last time, Udrih – who will be an unrestricted free agent this summer – decided to speak up on the matter before he left town.

"I was hurt, and (Kings coach) Reggie (Theus) says, 'What is going on with Beno?' " Udrih said Tuesday. "Like our trainers didn't tell him what's wrong with me? Or the doctors? Yeah, the MRI is not going to show I have a block (in the back).

"(But) if I say I have pain, and I don't, then I would feel like I betrayed my team. That's the kind of guy I am. If I go out there (when) you are hurt, you are like 60 percent. You can hurt your team. My confidence goes down."

Theus said Udrih took his comments the wrong way.

"What I was saying is that I don't know what's going on because I'm not a doctor," Theus said. "And I've had a bad back, and I know that they're tricky. If you feel something, you feel something. What I was saying is that I don't know if it's in his best interests if he's not 100 percent to play at this point. He misunderstood what my intent was."

Theus – who noted that Udrih had "been in treatment every day since he got hurt" – reiterated that Udrih has shown a willingness to play through pain while in Sacramento.

"I've heard that (rap) about Beno, but I've also said since Beno's been here that I've seen times when he could've taken time off from practice and he's practiced when he was pretty banged up," Theus said. "I've not that seen any of that stuff."

When Udrih didn't see any quick progress through his rehabilitation and MRIs didn't reveal any damage, he sought other options. He flew his physical therapist from his homeland of Slovenia to work on his back and said he used techniques different from the Kings' staff.

"I said, 'How (do) they not know how to do that (manipulation)?' " Udrih said. "It feels much better. I don't feel that sharp pain. Of course it's sore, because I had a block in my back for 14 days, but it's better."

Udrih says he wants return to Sacramento but will look at all options during the summer. The late-season injury halted his momentum, with the team on the verge of promoting him for the league's Most Improved Player award before he was sidelined.

In his return Tuesday against the Warriors, Udrih had 10 points on 5-of-9 shooting with three assists in 23 minutes. It was a best-case scenario for Udrih, who said he gained three pounds while he was unable to do much conditioning. With four games remaining, he's averaging 12.7 points, 4.4 assists, 3.3 rebounds and 32.2 minutes while shooting 45.9 percent overall and 39.4 percent from three-point range.

"I was sympathetic to guys who I know don't want to end the season not playing," Theus said. "I was actually more concerned that he would hurt something else by not being in shape at this point. I was just concerned about him."

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