Yahoo Sources: Minnesota is shopping forward Chase Budinger on the market. http://t.co/tr9UgfL3IL
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) October 16, 2014
The Timberwolves are looking to trade another one of their veteran players.
Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reports that sources say Minnesota is shopping veteran forward Chase Budinger.
The Wolves previously dealt Kevin Love to Cleveland as part of a three-team deal that included the top draft picks of the last two years, Andrew Wiggins, and Anthony Bennett along with forward Thaddeus Young (from Philadelphia).
Budinger, 26, averaged 6.7 points for the Wolves last year. Injuries have limited his success in two seasons with the Minnesota. Budinger missed 41 games last season and 59 games during 2012-2013 because of injuries.
The blog Canis Hoopus notes that Budinger has never played a full season in the NBA.
While no trade is imminent, Wojnarowski reports that both Detroit and Houston are showing interest in Budinger. While he says Houston is reluctant to take on the $5 million player option, the Pistons are taking a long look at him and considering the possibility of making a deal.
According to Pro Basketball Talk, the Pistons have become interested in a deal after they lost shooting guard Jodie Meeks for two months because of a fractured back.
“Recent injuries to Jodie Meeks and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope have left them thin on the perimeter, and Budinger is a good shooter who would make a fine replacement. It’s not a surprise that the Rockets are looking at him, either: they drafted him in 2009 and in his last season with Houston, he shot 40.2 percent from three-point range.”
The deal makes sense for the Timberwolves, too, who have a lot of young talent at the forward spot.
Not only do Wolves have a glut at 3, as @WojYahooNBA notes, but they have 16 guaranteed deals. Exploring several avenues to address that
— Jon Krawczynski (@JonKrawczynski) October 16, 2014
Corey Brewer, Wiggins, Robbie Hummel, Glenn Robinson III and Shabazz Muhammad are all players that will see time at the wing for the Wolves this season.
