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Thank You For Your Time, Chase Budinger

By Ben Gibson

Jan 2, 2016; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Indiana Pacers forward Chase Budinger (10) runs onto the floor in between the Indiana pacemates to warm up before the game against the Detroit Pistons at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 2, 2016; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Indiana Pacers forward Chase Budinger (10) runs onto the floor in between the Indiana pacemates to warm up before the game against the Detroit Pistons at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports /
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Chase Budinger will play his last game with the Indiana Pacers tonight, but despite having a sub-par season, I’ll miss him a little bit.

Hey Chase, sorry it didn’t work out here.

I’m not sure if it was us or you, but it became clear that the two of us weren’t meant to be.

I was a little sad to see Damjan Rudez go when we traded for you, but I had liked what I’d seen with your game when you were healthy with the Minnesota Timberwolves.

I think the biggest problem with your time in Indiana was the fact the Pacers had more wing players than you could shake a stick at. Between you, Paul George, C.J. Miles, Rodney Stuckey, Glenn Robinson III, and Solomon Hill, there was only so many minutes to go around. I imagine it is hard for any player when you’re minutes aren’t really set night to night while Frank Vogel has to figure out the lineup. There was plenty of roster turnover from last season to now, so really the Indiana Pacers are still a bit of a work in progress. Perhaps you just a casualty of the chaos.

I’m glad though you stuck around and were a professional even when you had to wait to find a new team while Indiana waited to finalize your buyout. C.J. Miles and Rodney Stuckey needed to get healthy, and in that time, you had a nice night in Cleveland with 11 points, including this awesome putback dunk. You played your part well in that game, and maybe if a few more play would have went Indiana’s way, that could have been a win for the Pacers.

The season numbers, 4.5 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 1 assist a game weren’t great, but you had your moments. Eight times you scored 10 or more points, and the Pacers were 5-3 in those game, so thanks for helping pick up the win in those contests. I think it should be pointed out that the team had a better plus-minus when you were on the court than when you were off, as well as net rating, so I appreciate you going out there and working hard.

Chase Budinger 2015-16 Shot Chart | PointAfter

But yeah, things didn’t work out. I understand why some of our staff took some parting shots at you in our roundtable, and a lot of that was warranted. You had some… interesting… moments here too.

Chase Budinger Career Points, Rebounds and Assists per Game | PointAfter

But you put on the Indiana Pacers jersey and when you look at the numbers, you were making the team a little better when you were on the court. Maybe if you had more regular minutes we would have seen some of the promise you showed late in the season for the Minnesota Timberwolves last year, but it wasn’t meant to be.

It is probably for the best interest of the Indiana Pacers and yourself that we go separate ways.

Next: 8p9s Roundtable: Welcoming Ty Lawson to the Indiana Pacers

Thank you for your time, Chase Budinger, and good luck where ever you play next.

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