After an impressive rookie season on an underachieving team, MarShon Brooks didn’t really find a place for himself on the new & improved Brooklyn Nets, which might lead him to another destination, possibly the Minnesota Timberwolves, interested in acquiring him via trade.
The arrivals of Gerald Wallace and Joe Johnson dropped Brooks’ minutes from 29.4 minutes during his rookie season to only 12.9 a night last season, despite being a fan favorite among Nets fans, with his per-36 minutes numbers staying virtually the same despite his significant reduction in playing time.
The Minnesota Timberwolves look back at last season and see another year of disappointment, mostly due to injuries that crippled the team and denied it from reaching their playoff potential. However, their M.O., of filling the squad with young, talented players to make the most of hasn’t changed, and that’s why they have their eyes set on Brooks.
The Timberwolves didn’t really have a shooting guard last season, usually playing with two point guards in the backcourt. However, the Nets need a new backup point guard on the roster, with C.J. Watson leaving the team. Besides Ricky Rubio, the Timberwolves have plenty of point guards, and they’re probably willing to get rid of one in order to make the deal work – Alexey Shved, J.J. Barea and Luke Ridnour.
The problem begins when you look at the Nets’ cap situation, which doesn’t allow them to do a straight up trade with Brooks, especially with the second-year player making $1.2 million next season, while the player the Nets will be getting will be making between $3.1 million and $4.6 million.
The Nets will have to include another player in the deal or a draft pick, something they’ve used quite a lot of in the past to where they are at the moment. Out of the young players on their roster, Mirza Teletovic, making $3.3 million next season, is the only one who fits the description of making the deal possible, although there’s not much he can contribute, scoring 3.5 points on 9.4 minutes a night.
On the other hand, the Timberwolves seem to be obsessed with international players at the moment, which means that the offer, currently pending their approval, might go through if they find the Bosnian, who was a very big star in Spain while playing for Caja Laboral, someone they can get something out of – at least more than the Nets could, like in the case of Brooks himself.