Corey Brewer Going to Cleveland in Kevin Love-for-Andrew Wiggins Trade?

Andrew Wiggins for Kevin Love is not a trade I would make – I’ve written that repeatedly on this site. It looks like the Cavs are making it anyway. But according to a report in the News-Herald, there’s a new wrinkle to the deal that would make me pull the trigger: Corey Brewer is going to Cleveland.

"The crux of the trade appears to have the Cavaliers sending Wiggins, forward Anthony Bennett and a 2018 first-round pick to Minnesota for Love and possibly forward Corey Brewer. The Timberwolves might want to dump point guard J.J. Barea’s $4.5 million contract in a deal."

Brewer makes total sense! I can’t believe I didn’t think of it earlier. The Timberwolves are loaded at the wing (Chase Budinger, Shabazz Muhammad), there’s no telling (yet) where bouncy Zach LaVine will play, and if Minnesota gets Wiggins, he’s gonna get at least 30 minutes a night.

And Brewer’s a terrific fit for the Cavs. Coming out of Florida, I thought his ceiling could be Scottie Pippen – long, defensive player who can star on the wing if he could add a reliable jumper. That hasn’t quite happened yet, but Brewer, 28, did just have perhaps his best season as a pro: 48 percent shooting, 12.3 ppg. The problem? Brewer, because of his inability to make 3-pointers (28 percent last year, 29 percent for his career) is difficult to have on the floor when it matters … well, unless you have Kyrie Irving, Kevin Love and the best player in the NBA, LeBron James.

(Do we know if Andrew Wiggins can shoot yet? I think he can shoot and will be a good shooter, but that doesn’t mean he won’t shoot 40/30/70 as a rookie in Minnesota.)

Still, if you’re looking for a wing on a cheap deal (two more years, a total of $9.6 million) to play 25-30 minutes a night and maybe start on the dozen nights LeBron wants to take off, you could do a lot worse than Brewer, who was the MVP of the Final Four in 2007 and 6th in the NBA in steals per game last year (1.9).

I absolutely hate parting with Wiggins (and I think Bennett has some upside, too), but Love’s a Top 5/10 player in the NBA and Brewer definitely will get minutes in any Cleveland 8-man rotation.

Done deal.