The Minnesota Timberwolves reportedly are shopping forward Chase Budinger. The Houston Rockets, the Detroit Pistons and the Indiana Pacers are believed to be at least three teams interested in trading for the 26-year-old.
Budinger's name floated around during the offseason, and on Thursday Yahoo Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski confirmed Minnesota is indeed looking to move the small forward.
"The Minnesota Timberwolves are shopping forward Chase Budinger in trade talks, league sources told Yahoo Sports," Wojnarowski wrote. "Among talks with several teams, the Detroit Pistons and (the) Houston Rockets have shown an interest, league sources said.
"Houston is reluctant to take on the $5 million player option Budinger's deal has in 2015-16, as are the Pistons, sources said. Nevertheless, the Pistons are taking a long look at Budinger and considering the possibility of making a deal. No trade is considered imminent for Budinger."
Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN confirmed he heard the same rumblings from the Timberwolves and added Indiana to Wojnarowski's list. The Cleveland Cavaliers could also be interested in the wing player, according to Grantland's Zach Lowe.
Minnesota seemingly wants to dump Budinger because of the $5 million player option in his contract for next season. With an already crowded frontcourt, Budinger is unlikely to see much playing time, making Minnesota unwilling to risk getting stuck with his salary for next season.
Budinger, a 2009 second-round pick who played for Houston until 2012, averaged 6.7 points per game and shot 35 percent from 3-point range last year with Minnesota.
