Will Budinger Take the Next Step...

No.

Just ask the Arizona Wildcats faithful. He came into college and put up very good numbers for a freshman, but never went up from there. He was virtually the same player for all 3 years, and that is why he ended up as a 2nd round pick when he had lotto potential as a freshman. He is a fine role player, and I'm happy to have him, but he is nothing more than that.

 

He was doing too much spot up shooting during this past season. Hopefully he will be more aggressive & take/be given the opportunity to attack the basket more.

 

He was as good as Durant in high school....

Can he become a solid starter? Since his defense stinks, no

 

He will get better, but not to a star level, the ceiling for him would be something like Kmart, but with more balanced stats.

DD

 

He can be a solid starter. His defense improved last year and will hopefully continue to improve. He as all the tools to be a good nba player, he may never be an all star but most guys aren't.

 

Hopefully he can continue to progress. I think his best case scenario is Dan Majerle, which isn't a shabby thing to shoot for.

That 3ball has to come back though, or he won't stick for long.

 

Chase Budinger's ceiling is a starter on a lottery team, or a shooter off the bench on a good team. In other words, what he already is. The reason why he fell so low in the draft is because he showed zero progress in college. Just like he has shown none in the NBA. People see a guy who is young and athletic, and assume he has an unlimited ceiling. Meanwhile ignoring his ACTUAL growth and trajectory the past 5 years, or lack thereof.

 

He improved last year, especially defensively, but he was closer to his ceiling coming out of college than most because IMO, his mentality is not one of dominance, but rather one of just getting along.

That killer instinct to dominate his opponent seems to be missing, which will limit any upside he might have as an athlete etc.

DD

 

He can't hit a contested shot to save his life, and he's not even that good when left open, that's why he's gotten worse every year since high school. People played of of him in his rookie season so he got better looks.

His only chance is getting stronger and becoming a slasher.

 

Improve? Sure, he could improve on some things. But he will never progress to another tier. Not an allstar, not a star, not even a very good player. He will most likely stay exactly where he is. A below average role player playing limited minutes off the bench for a good team. Like a Kyle Korver. Which btw is still a very good pick for where he was taken.

 

Dude, I don't see Bud as a star either but come on, he averaged 14.4 points with 4 rebounds and 2.5 when he was injured a bit and his three ball wasn't falling as good as he expected. He can produce something like 15 points per game in lottery team which is not bad for a second round pick

He's way better now that Korver ever was

 

From a talent standpoint, there's nothing stopping Budinger from developing any aspect of his game further. He has the athleticism to do so, has the BBIQ to do so, and has enough tutoring to do so. He can be a better slasher to the basket. He can learn perhaps some post moves. He can try to emulate KMart more in terms of getting more good looks. But he just might be content to look like Battier on offense.

Is he willing to take the time and effort to take that leap? There's nothing stopping him but himself.

 

He's not a growing boy any more, but he could probably add a little beef this off-season. I thought his D improved overall as the season wore on, but he still needs to work on that. Perhaps an aggressive steroid/intense workout regimen will turn him into the killer we need. (Remember a few years back, when Kobe started the season freakishly bulked-up? I wonder, then and now, if roids were involved.) Anyway, if Chase continues with his usual laid-back attitude, he won't be more than a role player. I hang on to hope for him, though, because he's showed flashes of aggressiveness which, combined with his athleticism, could make him special. Let's all hope he works hard on his aggressiveness and athleticism this long off-season.

 

We didn't forget about him, we just remember asking the same question last year and getting our answer.

 

He has the tools to improve to another tier. Athleticism, basketball IQ, shooting touch.

The problem is that historically, he hasn't shown enough improvement from year to year to believe that he will ever 'make that jump', from what he is now to a solid starter on any team (or even for what the OP was fishing for, an all-star, as that is what we need from our SF position).

So he has the ability to improve to become that player. But realistically, it shouldn't be expected that he ever makes that jump. It's a pity. I really like him as a player. He just seems to be missing the determination to ever truly excel at his job.

 

New coaching staff, new year - who knows, maybe it could be a breakout year for CBud. He needs a mentor who will instill some toughness and fire in him. I think he was showing some signs of improvement after the Battier trade.