CHICAGO – Chase Budinger had already learned the art of "no comment." At least when it came to addressing the media.

But the draft prospect from Arizona didn't have that option when he sat down for a half-day of interviews with NBA team representatives Thursday. Just like other players who would be asked the most personal of questions during this portion of the predraft combine, Budinger had to say something. Even if he was speechless.

"One team asked me if I had a girlfriend, and I said no," Budinger said as he relayed the story of one interview to the media. "And then they asked me if I had any friends with benefits. That was kind of a wacky question."

And the answer? "No comment," he said with a sheepish smile.

Budinger is a 6-foot-7 swingman who is projected to be taken in the neighborhood of Sacramento's second pick at No. 23. Not that basketball was the main topic of discussion in these meetings.

After a morning in which the league's front office types watched the players in action at Attack Athletics Training Center – with no scrimmages but plenty of agility drills, height and weight measurements, and full-court action of varying kinds – they headed to the Westin Hotel to double as interrogation specialists.

The goal of the interviews is simple: Teams are looking to get a sense of a player's personality and get answers to specific questions that surround them. They last from 30 minutes to an hour.

The Kings' interviews involved basketball president Geoff Petrie, vice basketball president Wayne Cooper, assistant general manager Jason Levien and scout Mike Petrie.

Jonny Flynn was booked from 1:45 to 7:45 p.m. on Wednesday, with an evening's worth of interviews already behind him that included the Kings and tested the stamina of a young man known for his unending energy.

The Syracuse point guard, who found new fame for his part in a six-overtime win over Connecticut in the quarterfinals of the Big East Tournament in March, said the interviews were more tiring than the epic game in which he played such a huge part.

"You've got to come in, you've got to talk the whole time, you've got to sit up right, have a presence," said Flynn, who is believed to be high on the Kings' list and a candidate for their first pick at No. 4.

"It's way more tiring. Playing basketball, that's the easy part."

Ty Lawson, the point guard out of North Carolina who is seen as a middle to late first-round pick, went into his interviews expecting to be asked hard questions and wasn't disappointed.

"They were grillin' me man," said Lawson, who added that he is scheduled to work out with the Kings soon. "They ask you everything. One person asked me, 'Would you rather go to a team with the 29th pick and sit on the bench behind two players or would you rather go to a team in the second round, and get picked up by a bad team and play a lot?' It's things that make you think."

In the case of his interview with the Memphis Grizzlies, there were questions that made Lawson think the team executives knew more about him than he knew about himself.

"One person (with the Grizzlies) was like, 'Hey, I heard you have an uncle?' and I said, 'Yeah, I (have) five of them,' " Lawson began.

"Then he said, 'One's a musician.' I said, 'I don't know that.' He said, 'Does he cut hair?' I was like, 'I have no idea.' The guy said, 'He's my barber.' So I called my dad and asked him, and he was like, 'Yeah that's him.' "

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