When is an injured player who may never play again a valuable trade asset? In the luxury tax era of the NBA. Robbi Pickeral of the Pioneer Press reports that the Timberwolves are looking to deal injured point guard Terrell Brandon even though his knee may force him to retire.

Officially, the Wolves say that they are not shopping Brandon. Owner Glen Taylor said that trading the 32-year old point guard is "not part of our plans at the current time. Right now, he's either going to play next year or he's not going to play next year.''

But Pickeral writes that team sources said that there are teams interested in Brandon and his contract. The reason? If he retires because of the injury, the team that holds his contract will save money against the cap. While the Wolves would love to lower their team salary, they would also welcome the chance to trade Brandon for a player or players that could help them win now.

If Brandon retires and is deemed physically unable to perform by an independent NBA doctor, his team could apply for and receive salary cap relief two years after the injury, which in this case was February 2002.

Players mentioned as possible trade targets: Atlanta?s Theo Ratliff and Heat starters Eddie Jones or Brian Grant.

"I do believe there's trade value, and you could probably get a fairly good player, a player that could contribute, but a player that's overpaid,'' said TNT analyst Danny Ainge, a former NBA player and coach.