Minnesota Timberwolves: Top 15 draft picks in franchise history

• Six seasons with Timberwolves (2007-10, 2013-14)
• Averaged 9.9 points, 3.2 rebounds, 1.8 assists
• Traded twice from Wolves, returned once as free agent

Corey Brewer is a tough draft pick to evaluate.

The two-time NCAA champion at the University of Florida was the seventh-overall pick of the Timberwolves in 2007 — the same year that Smith was drafted in the second round. The Wolves were looking to acquire enough talent to keep Kevin Garnett in the fold, and instead they got an extremely raw wing that didn’t do much but provide defensive intensity.

Even after three years at Florida, Brewer didn’t exactly have a … polished offensive game. He played in 79 games as a rookie for the Wolves and averaged just 5.8 points and 3.7 rebounds per game despite starting 35 contests. (The latter statistic still ties for a career high, some 11 seasons later.)

Brewer tore his ACL just 15 games into his second season as a pro, which only compounded the myriad issues the Garnett-less Wolves were encountering.

In 2009-10, his third season but first full campaign as a non-rookie, Brewer averaged a (still) career-high of 13 points while playing 30.3 minutes per game and starting all 82 contests. Also, this happened:

Then, prior to the trade deadline of his fourth season, Brewer was dealt as part of the infamous Darko Milicic trade initiated by David Kahn.

After being waived immediately by the New York Knicks, Brewer finished the season with the Dallas Mavericks, winning a championship with Rick Carlisle‘s squad. Then, after two years with the Denver Nuggets under George Karl, where Brewer found his groove as he entered the prime of his career.

As a free agent in the summer of 2013, Brewer returned to Minnesota for a second tour. He came on a modest contract as one of the wings to fill out the rotation alongside newly acquired veteran Kevin Martin and the injured Chase Budinger. The 2013-14 campaign became known for Kevin Love’s numerous long outlet passes that found the streaking Brewer as the 27-year-old reinvented himself as a unique weapon.

That Wolves squad won 40 games, under-performing their point differential at near-historic levels and failing to make the playoffs. Brewer was traded to the Houston Rockets early in the following season and has bounced from the Rockets to the Los Angeles Lakers to Oklahoma City Thunder over the past three years.

While there were plenty of players selected after Brewer in the 2007 draft that may have been better overall players and fits for the Timberwolves, Brewer has been a consistent and overall valuable NBA player and a fan-favorite during both of his stints in Minnesota.