Notebook: Brewer prepared to take back seat to Wiggins in starting lineup
MINNEAPOLIS -- With Kevin Martin nursing a minor injury, Andrew Wiggins and Corey Brewer have been spending a lot of time on the same scrimmage team. Even during training camp, coach Flip Saunders paired the two on each wing with Ricky Rubio at the point.
But Brewer doesn't see that arrangement lasting long.
"I like playing with him," Brewer said of Wiggins, the No. 1 overall pick in this year's draft. "I think we can play together. But let's be honest. When K-Mart comes back, I'll come off (the bench), so me and Chase (Budinger) will play together, and him and K-Mart will play together."
Saunders continues to mix and match rotations, he said, so nothing is set. But it appears Brewer, who started 81 games last season, is already mentally preparing himself for the sixth man role he performed admirably in Denver for two years before the Wolves signed him last summer.
That'd require Wiggins earning the starting nod at small forward. He's drawn high praise from Saunders so far, and scored 18 and 11 points, respectively, in two preseason games.
Wiggins started both of them alongside Brewer, but that's because Martin's been out with a strained adductor since Oct. 4. Brewer would presumably be the first option off the bench, giving Minnesota an energetic and defensive spark. He, Rubio and power forward Thaddeus Young all ranked in the NBA's top 10 in steals last year.
Budinger, meanwhile, could provide an outside shooting boost when Wiggins or Martin needs a rest. Twos and threes in Saunders' system, like that of Rick Adelman before him, are virtually interchangeable.
Saunders grouped Rubio, Brewer, Wiggins, Young and Gorgui Dieng together for scrimmaging during Tuesday's practice. That's no indication of what the starting lineup will be going forward, Saunders said.
Even though he's planning on moving back to the bench, Brewer's in full support of Wiggins. "He's going to be one of the best players around the league for a long time."
Cold 44: Brewer doesn't see much need for the league to shorten games. But he understands why the NBA will test out a 44-minute contest in Sunday's preseason game between Brooklyn and Boston.
"I guess, a lot of miles on guys' legs and stuff," Brewer said. "Games are taking too long, they say. But I don't know; it's been that way for a long time. I feel like it shouldn't change."
The league and in particular commissioner Adam Silver have explored several options for better catering to player health. That includes less demanding travel, a longer All-Star break, attention to sleeping and eating habits and now, a game that's four minutes shorter than usual regulation standard.
Saunders identified two potential benefits of playing shorter games.
"No. 1 is that it's a long season; maybe it'd take a little bit of wear and tear off the players," said Saunders' who is also the team's president of basketball operations and a part owner. "No. 2 is that, especially sometimes with our instant replay, the games have become longer. We've always tried to keep the games right at the 2:15 mark, and this might be a way to shorten the games."
But there are drawbacks, too.
Starters will likely play their 30-some-minute workloads regardless. That leaves fewer minutes for players coming off the bench.
Fans would be getting slightly less bang for their buck when buying tickets. Saunders said the price of admission wouldn't decrease should the league's look at shortened games move beyond the experimental stage.
"We don't charge 10 percent when there's an overtime game," Saunders pointed out.
Injuries and wear are unavoidable, anyway, Brewer noted.
"There's going to be injuries if you play 44 minutes or you play 30 minutes," Brewer said. "There's going to be injuries. It's basketball. Things happen."
Bennett exuding more confidence: Power forward Anthony Bennett's 13-point, eight-rebound game on Saturday is a product of increased moxie built throughout the preseason, Saunders said.
"He feels extremely comfortable," Saunders said. "As a coach, it's your job as a coaching staff to get players to where they feel comfortable playing within your system or within your plays. I believe a lot of our guys are getting to that point. He's definitely one of them."
That's a far cry from the discouraged, out-of-shape rookie that waded through a 2013-14 season in which he played just 52 games and averaged 12.8 minutes, 4.2 points and two rebounds.
A handful of offseason medical operations -- shoulder surgery, LASIK vision correction and removal of his tonsils and adenoids -- and a strict workout and diet regimen helped. So has some advice from Minnesota's veterans since being traded from Cleveland along with Wiggins in the Kevin Love deal.
"All the vets that we have on the team, you make a mistake in practice, they tell me to keep my head up, just tell us what we can do better next time," Bennett said.
The 6-foot-8, 240-pound Toronto native known as "Big Daddy Canada" didn't have his protective goggles on at practice Tuesday. He said he's no longer required to wear them after a checkup after an eye doctor told him his eyes are fully healed after LASIK surgery earlier this offseason.
Injury update: Shabazz Muhammad had his right foot in a walking boot and did not practice Tuesday. Saunders said the second-year forward has minor tendonitis in his right Achilles tendon and will be in the boot as a precaution for the next day or two.
The injury didn't stop Muhammad from participating in his second annual backpack and school supply delivery to local students. But he's not expected to play in Friday's preseason game against Milwaukee at Cedar Rapids' U.S. Cellular Center.
Martin participated in some contact work for the first time since his adductor strain Tuesday before resting the final 35 minutes of practice. Saunders said there's a good chance Martin plays "sometime this weekend."
The Wolves take on Oklahoma City on Sunday at the BOK Center in Tulsa.
Center Kyrylo Fesenko missed Tuesday's practice with an illness.
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