Corey Brewer joined the Lakers as part of the trade that sent Lou Williams to the Houston Rockets. It is time to see what he will bring to the table for LA.
Corey Brewer was not certainly the objective of the first trade Magic Johnson orchestrated as President of Basketball Operations. He was attached to the first round draft pick Magic was aiming to.
Like it or not, he is now on board, and LA would better make the most of it.
Brewer comes at 30 years of age as a veteran with the task to replace Lou Williams mostly off the court. He is a good locker room presence who can have a positive impact on the young players. He is never been involved in locker room incidents and has always been well-liked by teammates.
On the court, he is going to bring a lot of energy, which gets along with Lakers’ young age. Most importantly he provides a much needed defensive presence. He cannot certainly match Sweet Lou’s offensive production. Nor is he near being a decent 3-point shooter. But his defense can be a good example for the youngsters.
At his best, he had a 2.7 Defensive Win Share and a 1.7 Defensive Box Plus/Minus in Minnesota. Not numbers of an elite defender, but a good one’s, though.
Brewer’s contract is almost equivalent to Williams’s. It runs through the next season at a bit more than 7 million per year. If Lakers’ new front office does not manage to dump it in a trade (but they have more compelling and expensive contracts to think about) he is probably going to remain in LA for the entire length of it.
Sometimes these acquisitions look unnecessary, but that is not always the case. Think about Jordan Hill, obtained at the 2012 trade deadline for Derek Fisher in a minor trade when the main acquisition was Ramon Sessions. Sessions walked away at the end of the season as a free agent, while Hill became, in the following years, an energetic presence off the bench and had his career highs in purple and gold uniform.
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Same thing for Kent Bazemore. After never seeing the floor with the Warriors, he arrived at the 2014 deadline as a young talent to be evaluated for a team without hopes to reach the playoffs. He had his best numbers in 23 games with the Lakers and subsequently obtained a contract with the Atlanta Hawks.
Even Tarik Black, though not acquired via trade, was claimed off waivers on December 2014 to add a cheap big man who might or might not have been promising, and now he is an integral part of Walton’s rotation.
Brewer came to LA as a casualty of the trade deadline and does not seem to fit with what the Lakers’ front office is trying to build. However, we do not know how things will develop and how he could impact Lakers’ game.
Next: D'Angelo finding his rhythm
What do you think? Is Brewer going to be a good fit? Or do we have just to wait for his contract to expire? Let us know in the comment below.