The Pacers are set to trade for Chase Budinger, per report: http://t.co/cKy7ak6MAy pic.twitter.com/0Wgxqnbj8Z
— SB Nation (@SBNation) July 11, 2015
The Minnesota Timberwolves have traded Chase Budinger to the Indiana Pacers, media reports indicated Saturday afternoon.
As part of the Budinger deal, Indiana will send forward Damjan Rudez to Minnesota, league sources said. Deal should be finalized today.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 11, 2015
In return, the Wolves will get Damjan Rudez in a swap of small forwards.
The news was first reported by Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports, and a source also confirmed the trade to the Associated Press. The teams have not yet announced the deal.
Budinger, 27, has been in the NBA for six seasons – the past three with the Timberwolves – and has been plagued with knee problems. He’s torn the meniscus in his left knee twice, and missed 100 games during his first two seasons with Minnesota, according to SB Nation.
Budinger played in 67 games with the Wolves last season, averaging 19 minutes and 6.8 points per game.
Yahoo Sports notes Budinger likely lost out on playing time because of Minnesota’s depth at small forward.
With the Pacers, he will likely back up Paul George and will be an additional shooting threat, according to SB Nation.
As for the Timberwolves, they get Rudez, who’s 29 years old and a good long-range shooter. He shot 40 percent from 3-point range with the Pacers last season.
Rudez is from Croatia and just finished his first year in the NBA after playing professionally in Europe for several years, according to Yahoo Sports.
