Chase Budinger Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Timberwolves Notes: Conroy, Oden, Budinger

October 26th, 2012 at 9:13am CST by Luke Adams

While starting the season without Ricky Rubio and Kevin Love, who are both recovering from injuries, will be a challenge for the Timberwolves, the early-season schedule may help keep the team afloat. Nine of the T-Wolves' 15 November games are against clubs that played sub-.500 ball last season, while three more come against the Magic, Bulls, and Mavericks, teams whose '11/12 stars have either been traded away or injured. As the Wolves prepare for the regular season to get underway, let's check out a few updates out of Minnesota….

A source close to Will Conroy is convinced the point guard will earn a spot on the Wolves' opening night roster because of the $100K guarantee on his contract, says Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities.
The Timberwolves have brought aboard longtime NBA consultant Steve "Hat Man" Gordon, according to Wolfson, who notes that Gordon had plenty of influence in Portland when he worked for the Trail Blazers.
Gordon has a good relationship not only with Conroy and Brandon Roy, but also Greg Oden, who could be on the Wolves' radar when he gets healthy, says Wolfson.
There have been no talks about a contract extension between the Wolves and offseason acquisition Chase Budinger, reports Wolfson. Budinger will hit unrestricted free agency next summer.
With Rubio and Love out to start the season, Budinger will be tasked with carrying more of the scoring load, writes Ray Richardson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press.

Glen Taylor Talks Kirilenko, Roy, Beasley, Batum

October 1st, 2012 at 9:24am CST by Luke Adams

Last month, Twin Cities Business Magazine published a feature by Britt Robson on Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor. While the piece touched on some basketball and roster issues, many of those details were not included. Now, Robson has posted a few of Taylor's more interesting quotes related to the T-Wolves' offseason moves and last season's roster. Here are the highlights from the Wolves owner:

On the team's additions of Andrei Kirilenko and Chase Budinger:

"[Rick Adelman] says, ‘This is the guy I want (Kirilenko). He never talks about scoring, he talks about passing and he talks about defense. I need that player in my system to be successful.’ So that one was clearly the coach…. And Chase Budinger, that’s the coach. Rick knows him. He says, ‘I can put him in the game, he’s going to be smart; he’s not going to be the greatest defensive player, but he can do it. He isn’t going to make mistakes.'"

On signing Brandon Roy:

"You might think that is the coach, but that is more David [Kahn]. I think it is David saying, ‘Let give this player to Rick and get the backup in place in case it doesn’t work out.’ Because Rick keeps saying to me, ‘I don’t know if he can play!’ And I tell him, ‘Rick, I don’t know if he can play either!’ So the Brandon Roy thing is a risk."

On what Adelman thought of Michael Beasley and Anthony Randolph:

"What Rick said about Michael was, ‘Yes, Michael has been good. I get along with him. But I don’t think we’ll be a championship team with him. If I put Michael in, Michael can score, but he doesn’t play any defense and he forgets the other offensive players, and I just can’t tolerate that under my system because the other players are just standing around'…. The coach would have put up with Randolph if we had gotten rid of Beasley. He said Randolph isn’t really a problem, he just can’t remember things. When was going down his list and got to Randolph, he said, ‘I think he should be off the team. But if these things were taken care of and I had to deal with it, I can deal with a kid like him because he is more of an introvert, he’s not a nasty kid.’"

On the team's recruitment of Nicolas Batum:

"Batum recruited us about as much as we recruited him. He was one of a number of guys who said they are interested in coming to us because of Ricky [Rubio]. He said, ‘I like your coach and I like Ricky and Kevin [Love]. I think I can fit in. I don’t need to score a lot; that isn’t what drives me. I like being on the court with players who share the ball.’ There were three teams he was interested in — New Orleans and Toronto were the other ones — but he said they weren’t as far along as we were and that we were his preference right now."

On what the Wolves offered Portland for Batum in a sign-and-trade:

"It never ended up being that we offered [Derrick] Williams. I said to David, ‘We’re not going to offer Williams,’ so I know David never did it. And as far as we know, we never got beyond [offering] one first-rounder. It never got stretched that far because Portland wouldn’t say what they wanted."

On whether a trade could still be in the works for Minnesota:

"There is room to do more [trading] but not right now because of Ricky’s injury. There are like, five guys at the two guards, so I think logically we could do something — and there is something out there — but until we know for sure that Ricky is going to come back healthy, I think you are going to see us set with this group."

Timberwolves Acquire Chase Budinger

June 26th, 2012 at 8:56am CST by Luke Adams

The Timberwolves have sent the No. 18 pick in the draft to the Rockets in exchange for Chase Budinger, reports Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress.com (via Twitter). The Rockets also included the rights to Israeli forward Lior Eliyahu in the deal, tweets Adrian Wojnarwoski of Yahoo! Sports.

Rockets News: Dragic, Lee, Budinger, Camby

June 21st, 2012 at 6:14pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Rockets appeared earlier today to be on the cusp of a deal involving Samuel Dalembert and the 16th pick, but multiple reports deny that a deal is imminent. There's plenty to suggest the Rockets will be active one way or another, including a report from Mark Berman of Fox 26 Houston indicating the team will look to retain Goran Dragic, Courtney Lee, Chase Budinger and Marcus Camby.

Kyler On Rockets, Gasol, Pacers, Blazers, Smith

March 15th, 2012 at 8:26am CST by Luke Adams

In his NBA AM piece for HoopsWorld, Steve Kyler reported that Dwight Howard is highly unlikely to change his mind again, but that the Magic seem to have a deal they'd do with the Nets if Howard waffles once more. You can follow all of today's Howard updates here, and check out the rest of Kyler's morning notes below:

The Rockets are discussing more than half their roster in trades, having offered around Terrence Williams, Jonny Flynn, Jordan Hill, Chase Budinger, Patrick Patterson, Luis Scola, Hasheem Thabeet and Courtney Lee. According to Kyler, Houston would trade any combination of those players to acquire Chris Kaman.
The Bulls want Lee, but aren't likely to meet the Rockets' asking price, which would mean parting with Taj Gibson or Omer Asik. The Pacers and Timberwolves are also eyeing Lee.
Houston has a standing offer out to the Lakers for Pau Gasol, but it doesn't include Kyle Lowry, so nothing is expected to happen there.
If the Blazers' three-team deal with the Timberwolves and Lakers involving Jamal Crawford falls through, Portland may have a backup trade in place with the Pacers.
The Magic won't be able to make a move for Josh Smith, which isn't a surprise. One league source tells Kyler the Hawks want an All-Star frontcourt player in exchange for Smith, so a deal is very unlikely.

Amick On Jennings, Bogut, Batum, Rockets

March 12th, 2012 at 12:26pm CST by Luke Adams

Sam Amick of SI.com has a few updates on this week's trade candidates, so let's dive in….

Brandon Jennings could be had "for the right price." Long considered a franchise cornerstone, Jennings irked some Bucks officials with his comments last month about exploring free agency.
Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle hears from Warriors sources that reports of Golden State's interest in Andrew Bogut are "nothing more than hype." However, sources tell Amick that the team's interest is real. The Wizards also inquired on Bogut, but talks went nowhere, says Amick. The Rockets aren't thought to be involved on the Bucks' center.
Amick goes on to say that the Bucks feel this may not be the best time to get full value for Bogut, considering he's still on the shelf for a few weeks with a fractured ankle.
The Blazers may be active this week, but they don't intend to move Nicolas Batum, who they are determined to keep long-term.
Courtney Lee, Chase Budinger, Jonny Flynn, and Terrence Williams are among the Rockets who would "likely welcome a trade," according to Amick. Goran Dragic is also a trade candidate, since he's not expected to be re-signed this summer. Though I'd imagine Houston will be more inclined to keep Dragic with Kyle Lowry's return date up in the air.

Kyler On Rockets, Nets, Augustin, Chandler

January 30th, 2012 at 3:05pm CST by Luke Adams

Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld took a look this morning at a few names he expects to be discussed in the weeks leading up to March's trade deadline. Here are a few highlights from the piece:

The Jazz and Grizzlies are among the many teams that have some interest in Chris Kaman.
The Rockets have been active, but are seeking a significant return for players like Jordan Hill, Chase Budinger, and Luis Scola.
With just over $34MM committed in 2012/13 salaries, the Nets wouldn't mind clearing some future cap room by moving Anthony Morrow or Jordan Farmar prior to the trade deadline.
If the Cavaliers are still in the mix for a playoff spot as the deadline approaches, don't expect them to become sellers.
Although the Bobcats aren't shopping D.J. Augustin, Kyler hears from sources close to the team that they'll listen to offers if they can obtain draft picks and gain financial flexibility.
When Wilson Chandler returns to the NBA from China, the Raptors plan to "make life hard" for the Nuggets. Denver has the rights to Chandler as a restricted free agent, but Toronto may try to move Jose Calderon or Leandro Barbosa to gather assets for a sign-and-trade offer for Chandler.