With a lot of young players, the Los Angeles Lakers are going to need veteran leaders. Forward Corey Brewer is ready to step into that role.
After some struggles in recent years, the Los Angeles Lakers have been building through the NBA to turn their franchise around. In recent years, the Lakers have used high first round picks on players like Julius Randle, D’Angelo Russell, Brandon Ingram, and Lonzo Ball.
Even though the Lakers traded Russell to rid themselves of a bad contract, they still have a solid young core of talent. While having young talent in the NBA is a great thing, young players do have some struggles from time-to-time.
As we saw last season, Brandon Ingram looked rather human at times despite being an unbelievable talent. As young players, it takes time for players to have their bodies mature and be ready for the NBA.
Like Ingram last season, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Ball have some rookie struggles as well. With a few veterans on the team, they know that they are going to have to help these young players grow. One of the veterans that are prepared to help is forward Corey Brewer.
Recently, Brewer talked about what his role with the young core to Rodrigo Azurmendi of Lakers En Espanol.
"“I try to help them all I can,” he said to Azurmendi . “I always tell them that if they need something, they can ask me, and if I see something, I will tell them what they can do better. With the experience I have, having played with many good players like James Harden, I tell them what they should do and what they should not do. It’s bringing experience to help them become better.”"
As Brewer mentioned, he was recently in the playoffs with the Houston Rockets. On that team, Brewer was teammates with one of the best players in the NBA in James Harden. As a veteran himself, Brewer knows what it takes to be in the NBA.
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With a lot of depth at the forward position, Brewer doesn’t have a clear cut role as of now. However, he has been a rotation player on some good teams in the NBA and can bring some solid defense for the Lakers off the bench. With training camp getting close, Brewer appears to be emerging as a leader for this young group of Lakers.