Budinger fulfills talent potential

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PHOENIX - By completing one of the NBA's best rookie seasons Wednesday, Chase Budinger has effectively created a three-year gap in his basketball résumé that doesn't easily compute.

The former Arizona forward left La Costa Canyon High School north of San Diego in 2006 as a potential NBA lottery pick, and just completed a rookie season for the Houston Rockets that was worthy of a lottery pick.

In between, well, maybe it was all just a bad dream.

That uncertainty and sudden retirement of his mentor, Lute Olson? That three-year tour at Arizona with Olson, Kevin O'Neill and Russ Pennell? And that slip out of the mid-first round deep into the second round of last year's NBA draft?

You might think it didn't happen … unless you carefully peel back Budinger's college career a bit. For starters, Budinger did get a year in with Olson as a freshman in 2006-07, though it was bundled with high expectations on the cordial former volleyball star from the beach.

Then, he played as a sophomore under interim coach O'Neill, who may not have been a popular choice with Olson's players but ran Budinger through a heavily structured offense that prepared Budinger somewhat for some of the screens and cuts he'd need under Houston coach Rick Adelman.

"Every coach I learned something from, no matter how different they were," Budinger said.

Then Budinger spent a final college season running an almost Olson-like motion offense under Pennell and his versatility quietly kept growing. He was not just a spot-up shooter.

"I've been really shocked," Phoenix coach Alvin Gentry said before Sunday's Rockets-Suns game. "I didn't know he could be a guy who came off screens and shoot it as well as he does. He's very, very good at that. He's been pretty consistent on that the whole season, being able to shoot it off screens."

Judging by Budinger's draft-night skid, Gentry was hardly the only one around the league surprised. Suns GM Steve Kerr, who shares not only a college choice (UA) but also a residential area (North County, near San Diego) with Budinger, said the Suns had Budinger pegged at No. 20 on their draft board. But Phoenix picked at No. 14 and they were seeking length and defense, so picking Budinger was not an option there.

Instead, the Suns picked Earl Clark, the lightly used forward from Louisville, then unsuccessfully tried to trade up from their second pick at 48 to get Budinger, Kerr said.

"I'm excited for (Budinger), although I'm taking a lot of grief from my coaches," Kerr said. "When Chase started to drop, we were shocked that he was dropping. We thought he'd be gone by the second round and he almost fell all the way to us. But every team has different needs and different lists, and I think Houston was just as shocked as we were that he was still around."

The Rockets acquired Budinger's rights from Detroit and began treating him and fellow second-rounder Jermaine Taylor like first-round picks. Both received two-year deals worth about $1.53 million, with club options for the third and fourth years at about $900,000 each - contracts that are only about $200,000 per year off the guaranteed rookie-scale contracts a late first-round pick receives.

While Taylor has bounced between Houston and the NBA's Development League, the value in Budinger's contract has been obvious for the Rockets.

"He's been very consistent for us this year," Adelman said. "He's played better when we've been healthier and when we haven't been healthy they kind of concentrate on him a little more. Chase's biggest thing is to learn how to defend people, but he's got a lot of talent."

Kerr indicated that Adelman has helped create Budinger, too, placing Budinger in a role and a system that has maximized his ability. Budinger, at just fewer than 9 points per game before Wednesday, is the Rockets' sixth-leading scorer - a valued complement but not the go-to guy he was at Arizona.

"It's been a great fit for him," Kerr said. "Rick is a really good coach for him. He runs a lot of stuff for him and believes in him and it's a good style for him."

Budinger said it's been hard to adjust to different roles as the season has progressed and the Rockets roster has changed, but he isn't complaining.

"It's been much better than I expected," Budinger said. "I worked hard and got my opportunity, and that's all I can ask for, even if I got drafted in the first round. I just came here wanting to play."

NICE START, Chase

His rookie rankings before Wednesday:

8.9 • 12th

Points per game

3.0 • 15th

Rebounds per game

.376 • 11th

Three-point shooting percentage

 

Kerr personally knows Chase and seems to like him... Chase would have to be included to get Amare.