Minnesota Timberwolves swingman Corey Brewer has been a hot commodity early this season. A couple of contenders, the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Houston Rockets, are reportedly interested in trading for Brewer with the Rockets even wanting to complete the deal now.
The Timberwolves had been shopping Brewer for quite some time now as trading the 28-year-old guard/forward for money and future draft picks would hasten their rebuilding process in the wake of the Kevin Love blockbuster deal this offseason. So why is Brewer still in Minnesota and not in Houston or Cleveland? Jon Krawczynski of the Associated Press believes that Timberwolves coach/president Flip Saunders is not ready to move the small forward despite the strong interest from both teams:
Flip on Brewer: he's just too valuable to us to move. Says he understands why teams with championship hopes want him.
And with their leading scorer Kevin Martin out indefinitely because of a wrist injury, keeping Brewer for depth purposes would be the best move for the time being. The Timberwolves started Corey Brewer at shooting guard against the Spurs on Friday and they may keep him until the February deadline according to Marc Stein via the Bleacher Report:
Stein touches on the two possibilities now available to the Timberwolves. In terms of winning now, they'll need Brewer for depth purposes. However, Minnesota is in a daunting and loaded Western Conference and probably won't be making the playoffs this season.
Trading the 28-year-old Brewer could expedite the rebuilding process because it would lead to more losses and a better draft pick. That mindset could certainly come into play closer to the trade deadline if and when the Timberwolves have completely fallen out of playoff contention.
With that being said, Brewer's departure in Minnesota may be on the books but not until the February trade deadline where Flip Saunders will have better gauge of where the team stands in the extremely loaded Western Conference. If it becomes very clear that the team has zero chance of entering the playoffs by then, look for Brewer to be moved to Cleveland or Houston.
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