I was curious to see what other tricks Larry Bird had up his sleeve as free agency slows down and with the Pacers still holding salary cap space.
Today, they traded last year’s European rookie shooter Damjan Rudez to the Minnesota Timberwolves in exchange for Chase Budinger.
It seems strange that the Pacers are giving up on Damo and his economic contract after just one year, but Budinger is an upgrade no matter how you look at it.
He was buried in the Wolves’ roster as he suffered from injuries and the team looked to…er…tank last season, and ended up finishing with averages of 6.8 points, 3 rebounds and 1 assist in 19 minutes off the bench.
On the other hand, Damo, in his first season, started off slow but found his rhythm as the year wore on and had a couple of high-impact games, finishing with averages of 4.8 points, 07. rebounds and 0.8 assists in 15.4 minutes.
Per 36 minutes, the two players don’t appear to be that different on paper except for Budinger’s significantly better rebounding. Damo was better from the field and the 3-point line (40.6% to 36.4%), but Budinger was more consistent from the line (83% to 70%).
However, Budinger improves the Pacers in a lot of ways. With the signing of Jordan Hill and with second pick Joe Young looking like he might be able to provide solid back up minutes at point guard, the Pacers actually need more depth at the wing positions. Right now they have CJ Miles, Solomon Hill, Rodney Stuckey and Paul George, but with Stuckey also playing the point at times and PG aiming to play minutes at PF, this move makes plenty of sense, especially as the Pacers look to play more up tempo next season.
Though Damo is 6’10”, his NBA career is essentially limited to a catch and shoot perimeter player given his weak athleticism. He is one of the worst rebounders in the league and is a tweener of defense who can’t keep up with wing players or bang with post players down low.
Budinger is 6’7″ and brings more versatility, speed and athleticism. He can still throw it down and is a solid fast-break finisher who offers much more on defense and off the glass. Injuries are a risk, but I doubt the Pacers would trade for him if that remains a major concern.
Also of note is that Damo is 29, while Budinger is 27, so the prospects of improvement are actually in the Pacers’ favor.
If Bud is that much better than Damo, then why would the Wolves pull the trigger? This looks like a salary move more than anything else. Bud’s talents were being wasted in Sota with the Wolves developing Wiggins with heavy minutes, but more importantly he takes up $5m a year on the books with just one season left on the contract. Damo, on the other hand, costs just $1.15m and has two years remaining on his contract, though the second year is a team option. It’s a win-win deal for both sides, with the Pacers improving their roster and maintaining financial flexibility and the Wolves gaining financial flexibility without losing much on the floor.
The Pacers’ roster is starting to come together nicely. If we take Paul George out of the equation (he’s already the biggest upgrade), it remains to be seen whether the rest of the roster is better than last year’s, but at least it offers more intrigue and possibilities than the “boring” alternative with Hibbert and West.
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