With their team falling apart due to injuries, the Minnesota Timberwolves are finally inclined to make a trade for Corey Brewer, with the Cleveland Cavaliers and Houston Rockets leading the pack in terms of those with the best chance of acquiring him.

Brewer, making $4.7 million this season and has a player option worth $4.9 million in the next one is averaging 10.5 points per game while leading the NBA with 2.3 steals per game. The Timberwolves have falled to 5-19 without Nikola Pekovic, Kevin Martin and Ricky Rubio playing, all out with different injuries. Saunders has moved from calling this a retooling year into a rebuilding process, realizing their chances of even doing respectably well in the West without these players are slim to none.

The Cavaliers have been looking for someone to give LeBron James some moments on the bench. That initially was the role of Shawn Marion, but in order to fix their defensive problems, he moved into the lineup while Dion Waiters was dropped to the bench. It hasn’t actually worked out that well, not to mention Marion is averaging just 5.4 points per game in 24 minutes a night, by far the least effective numbers of his career.

If Brewer does join the Cavaliers, it gives him the chance to reunite with Kevin Love. The duo had a successful on court relationship which included Love’s quarterback passes while Brewer zoomed ahead to finish off fast breaks.

The Rockets have been interested in Brewer since last season. He scored 51 points against them in one of the game, and Kevin McHale, the head coach of the Rockets, was the one who drafted Brewer out of Florida in 2008 when he was the general manager of the Timberwolves back then. According to sources, McHale spoke directly to Brewer last month after Saunders gave him permission to do so.

Unlike the Clippers, both the Cavaliers and the Rockets have trade exceptions that allow them to trade for Brewer without giving up players from their rosters. The Clippers however don’t have that luxury, and will have to somehow find a way to send back $4 million besides the draft pick or picks the Timberwolves are interested in, which makes the likelihood of them getting him a lot smaller.

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