NBA Trade Rumors: Latest Buzz from Around the League

The 2014 NBA season has started with a bang, and there are already rumors of possible trades circulating around the league. That didn’t take long.

With notable players like Sacramento’s Jason Thompson and Minnesota’s Chase Budinger reportedly on the market, the landscape of the league could drastically shift as the regular season progresses.

Here are the latest rumors from around the NBA.

Interest Growing for Jason Thompson?

It remains to be seen if the Sacramento Kings have the composure to take advantage of all the talent on the roster, but one player who could be dealt if the current nucleolus doesn’t work is power forward Jason Thompson.

In his preview of the entire NBA, Zach Lowe of GrantLand.com spoke about interest in Thompson picking up steam as the season progresses:

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They’ll also be active on the trade market, and I’d love to see them either move Jason Thompson or use him as a backup center. In Gay, Derrick Williams, and even Omri Casspi, the Kings have the tools to play small-ball lineups, but that will be a tiny feature of their rotation as long as Malone starts the Cousins-Thompson duo. The rising cap has renewed interest in Thompson as a bench big, according to several sources across the league.

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Since being drafted in 2008, Thompson has been one of the Kings' most reliable players. Whether it was starting or coming off the bench, he is a force around the basket, both scoring and rebounding.

With players like Derrick Williams and Carl Landry eating minutes at the power forward position and Thompson becoming expendable, moving him sooner rather than later would allow the team to address an area of need. It would also give Sacramento a chance to work out any chemistry issues before crunch time at the end of the season.

Thompson is a good fit with the Kings, but the organization must think about its long-term future.

Timberwolves Shopping Chase Budinger?

Minnesota Timberwolves small forward Chase Budinger is one of the most dynamic bench players in the NBA, and adding depth and talent to a roster is something every team in contention is thinking about over the course of the year.

As the season progresses, Budinger would be an ideal acquisition via trade to a team posturing for a deep postseason run.

According to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports, “The Minnesota Timberwolves are shopping forward Chase Budinger in trade talks, league sources told Yahoo Sports. Among talks with several teams, the Detroit Pistons and Houston Rockets have shown an interest, league sources said.”

The teams interested make sense. Budinger was originally drafted by Detroit in 2012 but was dealt to Houston, where he spent the first three years of his career. Since joining Minnesota, his play has suffered, but that is the case for many players who end up on the struggling Timberwolves.

With the ability to shoot from behind the arc, defend his position well off the bench and rebound, Budinger would be a strong asset to a backup unit on a team with postseason dreams. The asking price can’t be that high, either.

*Stats via NBA.com.

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