Houston Rockets Trade Chase Budinger to Minnesota Timberwolves

According to a report in the Houston Chronicle the Houston Rockets have agreed to trade forward Chase Budinger to the Minnesota Timberwolves in exchange for the 18^th overall pick in Thursday’s NBA draft.

The deal gives Timberwolves coach Rick Adelman a perimeter player he’s very familiar with from his days in Houston.

The Rockets now own the 14^th, 16^th and 18^th picks in the draft, possibly setting the team up to make a bigger move come draft day.

Budinger, a second-round pick out of Arizona, has averaged 9.4 points on 43.5 percent shooting and 3.4 rebounds in his two seasons.

The Rockets also sent the rights to 6-9 forward Lior Eliyahu to the Timberwolves in the deal. Eliyahu, a 2006 second-round pick, has played in Israel and Spain, but could be ready to make the move to the NBA with the Timberwolves.

Houston has been clear that after adding three first-round picks last season, they had no desire to bring in multiple rookies against this year, so expect GM Daryl Morey to continue wheeling and dealing