A month after first offering him up to other teams as a useful veteran, the Minnesota Timberwolves have put swingman Corey Brewer back on the trading block yet again as the team enters a rebuilding mode in the wake of star forward Kevin Love’s trade departure this offseason.
Brewer, 28, isn’t a star by any means but is a long small forward who can provide a contending team with another body who can match up well and hit open shots (averaging 10.5 points a game this season) when called upon. He’s also not a very expensive bench option for teams, as he is owed $4.7 million this season and has a player option for next season at $4.9 million.
According to the report by ESPN, the Rockets and Cavaliers–both right in the middle of the playoff bracket in their respective conference if the postseason started today–are the two teams most interested in bringing Brewer on with the Clippers as another intrigued team. The common point between those three teams is their relatively weak benches, which they are undoubtedly trying to improve.
He’s not a knockdown shooter by any means, but Brewer is a career 43 percent shooter who has pretty significant playoff experience, as he won a NBA Championship in 2010-11 with the Mavericks. In his most recent playoff stint, in the 2012-13 season with Denver, the Florida product averaged 10.8 points per game. For teams with young and unproven reserve units such as Houston and Cleveland, adding Brewer to the mix would stabilize the bench.
Due to the player option Brewer has on his contract for next season, the Timberwolves are eager to deal him before February’s deadline so if he does in fact decline his player option and become a free agent, they at least get some value in return for losing him. Now, what that desired return is could be as much as a first round pick in a future draft, a low-level player with a comparable salary or even a second round pick in a draft years down the road.
It all depends on what Flip Saunders, who coaches Minnesota and is also the team president, decides is the best course of action and whether or not the teams interested in Brewer are willing to shell out a top pick for what could turn out to be a few months of a decent, but not great, player.
