Minnesota Timberwolves: Corey Brewer An Attractive Asset?
Anyone who remembers the San Antonio Spurs team from last season saw a collection of blue collar “glue” guys that people say every great team needs to supplement its franchise guys. And viewers witnessed it first hand during the Finals in their dismantling of the far more glamorous Miami Heat.
It was the skill and sublime ball movement of Boris Diaw or and clutch shooting of Danny Green or the hustle of Tiago Splitter.
In that environment, that system, it was the sort of collaborative effort and the concession player roles that made everything work together in a way culminated in a performance that I didn’t expect, and almost certainly won’t see again.
Yet I have to think those same players, the blue collar hustle ones, have to be in a Spurs-type situation, to a degree, to have a major impact. Put Diaw or Splitter on a rebuilding team with a firm philosophy or structure and I would argue that they would fade into obscurity; the level of play would dictate theirs.
Of course, there are not a ton of players that I would designate as this: questionable in questionable situations, but crucial in ideal situations. But in hearing that the Minnesota Timberwolves are now actively shopping Corey Brewer, one of “those” players is now ripe to be had.
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Both the Wolves and any suitor should be excited at the prospect.
I have been arguing since the beginning of the season that the Wolves desperately needed to clear the logjam at the wing; there were a lot of players of equal skill and of minimal trade value.
My only exception to that, aside from the rookies, was Brewer or Kevin Martin, who, if either started the year unusually well or had a particular follower, could return something to covet. While Martin has a very nice start, it is Brewer that the Wolves apparently have made expendable.
Marc Stein of ESPN reported that both the Cavs and Rockets are interested in Brewer and neither team is a surprise. With news that the Cavs want to reduce LeBron James’s minutes and that his backup Shawn Marion is now starting at shooting guard, it is clear that they need another guy there.
Actually, the fact the Cavs are willing to start Marion at a position in which he is so out of place says to me that the team feels Dion Waiters simply isn’t a fit. It would be asking a lot, but could the Wolves try and finagle him in a deal?
However, according to Stein, both the Cavs and the Rockets have a trade exception that would allow them to take on Brewer’s $4.7 million salary. That would allow them the flexibility to only dangle draft picks as compensation.
I’m not sure the Wolves need any more picks in the mid- to late 20s to muddy and already murky pool of young players on the roster. Either way, the trade would seemingly free up more minutes for Shabazz Muhammad and allow for more flexibility for Zach LaVine when Ricky Rubio comes back from injury.
It could even open up some minutes for Glenn Robinson III, who no one has seen yet but I have reasonable expectations for.
It is interesting, though, for a team coming off defensive performances in which they have given up 139 and 131 points, respectively, to want to trade one of their better defensive players. I do that that reputation has been buoyed a bit over the years from Brewer’s propensity to go for steals, but he is still solid there.
However, if such a reputation still exists among the league and they can trade Brewer while he has strong suitors, it is a prudent move.
I feel the Wolves should go all in negotiating with the Cavs. They have to be more anxious than the Rockets, given the info that has been leaked. He would be reunited with Love and could play multiple positions, even some shooting guard, where I don’t believe Shawn Marion can, or should, hold up for the entire season.
It presents an opportunity, though. The refusal of Dion Waiters to concede that he is at least the fourth option on a good basketball team should make him expendable. If LeBron really is calling the shots there, I can’t imagine that he would not champion a deal that would jettison a selfish player and return the inverse.
And he fits. I think Brewer would really excel there. I’m not crazy about Waiters, either, but he is a young asset with talent. It’s a superior return to another mid-20’s pick that all too often is sold for cash anyway.
Maybe Waiters morphs into the Boris Diaw opposite: The player that excels when he doesn’t have to be part of the focused, collaborative effort. Of course, that doesn’t sound like the kind of player a team is looking to acquire. It’s trial-and-error, though, and there is no debate that the Wolves are still stuck in that stage.
They should throw a dart at him.