Hoops Habit
Fansided

Where Chase Budinger Fits In The Timberwolves’ Plans

By Aaron Mah

Apr 10, 2015; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves forward Chase Budinger (10) shoots against Los Angeles Lakers forward Tarik Black (28) during the first half at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 10, 2015; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves forward Chase Budinger (10) shoots against Los Angeles Lakers forward Tarik Black (28) during the first half at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit

To no one’s surprise, Minnesota Timberwolves swingman, Chase Budinger, will indeed exercise his player option — worth approximately $5 million — for the 2015-16 season, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports.

Per Wojnarowski, Budinger filed the necessary paperwork at the end of April, thereby forgoing his rights to become an unrestricted free agent this summer.  

And it’s hard to blame the former Arizona Wildcat for his decision, especially when considering the extensive list of injuries the 6-foot-7 wing has suffered since joining the Timberwolves in 2012.

However, his decision does put the Wolves in a bit of a bind.  More specifically, the wing position is perhaps the only area of Minnesota’s destitute roster that enjoys some resemblance of depth — as, in addition to Budinger, the Wolves also house the quartet of Andrew Wiggins, Kevin Martin, Zach LaVine, and Shabazz Muhammad.

Depending who the Timberwolves draft next month, the crowd at the two and three positions may become even more congested.

But, Air Bud did finish out his 2014-15 campaign rather strong.  Not only did the California-native play a grand total of 67 games this season — the most since the 2010-11 season — he also became a fixture in the Wolves’ late season rotation, serving primarily as the team’s resident stretch four.

I wrote about the effectiveness of putting Chase in that position back in late-March here.

He continued his fine play as a mismatch nightmare for the Wolves over the subsequent month.  In fact, Budinger averaged 12.3 points and 4.5 rebounds per game over the last two months of the year.

His impact as a stretch four went beyond his anecdotal output; his ability to lure opposing bigs out onto the perimeter while sharpening the team’s poor interior rotations was invaluable for the often-struggling Timber-Pups.

Sure enough, since the passing of the NBA’s prolonged All-Star break, Budinger was second among regular Minnesota rotational players in Net Rating, per NBA.com.  More interestingly, according to NBAWowy!, the team scored 6.6 points per 100 possessions more, while allowing 13.1 points per 100 possessions less, when Budinger was on the floor since Mar. 1.

Live Feed

Timberwolves incoming ownership have one job to keep the Wolves alive
Timberwolves incoming ownership have one job to keep the Wolves alive /

Dunking with Wolves

  • Team USA screams in win as Anthony Edwards goes silentDunking with Wolves
  • NBA rumors: Trae Young trade buzz, Andre Drummond is a comedian, Wemby and KAT team upFanSided
  • Nobody works harder than Minnesota Timberwolves C Luka GarzaDunking with Wolves
  • 5 Teams that could steal Anthony Edwards during his primeDunking with Wolves
  • Timberwolves latest Exhibit 10 signing adds promising perimeter powerDunking with Wolves

    • While the Timberwolves were still a minus-2.5 in Net Rating with Chase during the aforementioned stretch, he had perhaps the most profound impact on the Wolves’ success this year this side of Ricky Rubio.

    If Budinger can continue to stay healthy, he can provide an element to the Wolves attack next season, off-the-bench, the team has historically lacked.  

    Moreover, for a team in desperate need for consistent three-point shooting, Budinger’s 39.1 percent mark from beyond the arc since the beginning of March is nothing short of a precious commodity.

    Going forward, whether the Wolves select a big (such as Karl-Anthony Towns or Jahlil Okafor), a guard (like Emmanuel Mudiay or D’Angelo Russell) or a wing (most notably, Justise Winslow), Minnesota can comfortably slot Budinger in as a reserve power forward to start the season.  A player like Chase Budinger, with the versatility, and ability to bend opposing defenses without compromising too much of the team’s defensive principles, is in of a high demand in the modern NBA.

    And who knows, maybe he can recommence his late season momentum, and salvage his trade value before the 2016 All-Star break.

    Next: Top 5 Games Of Timberwolves' 2014-15 Season

    More from Hoops Habit

    Home/Minnesota Timberwolves