Corey Brewer Has Reached A Buyout With The Lakers, So Which Contender Could Use Him Most?

We’re at the point of the NBA season where veteran guys are starting to get bought out and look at the landscape of contenders to see where they want to latch on to for a playoff run. We’ve seen the Sixers snag a couple buyout guys, the Celtics snagged one, and now Corey Brewer is the latest veteran to enter the mix.

If you don’t know the specifics, Brewer was in the last year of his 3/23M deal, and at this point was getting no run this season. To be honest he really hasn’t since he joined the Lakers last year, and he’s never averaged more than 14 minutes a night. It’s not as if Brewer is some super old veteran either, he’s just 31 years old but the problem is his game is on life support. Offensively things don’t look great, he’s a career 28% three point shooter (shooting 18% this season) in a league where you have to be a three point shooter, so really his only value is on the defensive end. He still has good size at 6’9 and can give you respectable production on that end, which is why he’ll definitely have some looks for contenders for the playoffs. Woj’s tweet got me thinking, which contenders could truly use him?

Oklahoma City Thunder

This is who Woj mentioned and I have to agree, this makes the most sense on paper. The Thunder’s defense has taken a little bit of a step back since Andre Roberson went down, and there’s no reason Brewer can’t be some sort of Roberson-Lite. He’s the same type of player in that you can completely ignore him offensively and just use him for his length and defense.

If you look at your wing depth you see guys like Alex Abrines, Josh Huestis, and rookie Terrance Ferguson. If you look at their potential matchups in the playoffs, based on where they are now you’re looking at a HOU/GS series. I’d definitely want the additional veteran wing help for both of those rosters.

Right now Abrines has been getting a majority of those second unit minutes, in February he’s averaging 22.5 minutes a night and just 7 points on 38/34% splits with a 109 Drtg and a -4.9 net rating overal. The same story could be said for Jerami Grant’s February and Terrance Ferguson has really struggled this month, posting a 114.9 Drtg and a -31 net rating. It is very very clear that this team needs wing help if they want to knock off teams come Spring.

San Antonio Spurs

Look at this point you cannot bank on the health of both Rudy Gay and Kawhi Leonard. Kyle Anderson has done his best to pick up the slack, but other than that I just don’t see the wing depth you need in the West. You also have to factor in how Pop rests guys, so this addition would perhaps give Pop more situations in which he can rest or not rush guys back because he’d be able to insert a veteran presence.

Also don’t sleep on the fact that Pop might want to take a chance on him in the event they ever face HOU. Not for another body to throw at those offensive players, but because he wants to tap into some motivational head games where Brewer probably would have a great series to get back at his old team for trading him to the Lakers for Lou Williams.

Boston Celtics

Now I know what you’re thinking. The Celtics already have about 10,000 wing players so why on earth would they do this when they’re also most likely getting Hayward back at some point in the playoffs. But I’m not totally convinced that Shane Larkin’s knee isn’t really messed up, which might mean hey if they have to shut him down and that creates a roster spot, I’m for sure interested. This team’s calling card is not being able to shoot but still play defense, well I’d say that’s exactly what Corey Brewer is.

We know how much Brad loves versatile lineups, and you could definitely have some scary combinations with Brewer in the mix. It’s important to remember that we have NO IDEA how our young wing players are going to react once the playoffs start, so having a safety net there wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world.

Minnesota Timberwolves

Almost a no brainer for a little MIN reunion between these two. Jimmy Butler is most likely out for the rest of the regular season, and they most definitely do not have wing depth whatsoever. As of now you have Jamal Crawford doing his best and they’ve gone to a little bigger of a lineup with Bjelica now starting, but this team needs some sort of defensive addition now that they lost their best defender and they don’t even want Shabazz Muhammed anymore so I think this would be a decent fit. Granted he would probably never play because Thibs would just continue to play his existing guys way too many minutes, but the overall idea of him coming back to MIN isn’t terrible

Cleveland Cavaliers

Pretty simple, they need all the defensive help they can get. Cedi is coming back to earth a little bit, JR Smith is in a rut, and for a team that looked specifically at the deadline to get longer and more athletic, adding a long wing defender would certainly fit that bill. From a style perspective Brewer doesn’t really fit, mostly because he can’t shoot threes and the Cavs love to shoot threes (3rd in NBA), he would provide some insurance if the Cavs learn that the playoffs are too big for Cedi or anything like that. Even if you just wanted him to run with the second unit, a Clarkson/Hood/Brewer/Lebron/Nance Jr lineup sure is long and very switchable.

Something tells me CLE might be a dark horse here, mostly because the West is so tough and from the Cavs perspective there’s no long term commitment so why not.

Portland Trailblazers

Probably not going to happen, but the need is there. POR has needed a solid wing player for what seems like forever, and when you look at their roster there is sort of an imbalance. Tons of centers and power forwards, basically no wing players. You see them play Turner a lot at the three which really isn’t where he’s best suited, so there could definitely be a role for Brewer, especially with how inconsistent Maurice Harkless can be at times. The problem is if Brewer’s interested in really only joining a contender I’m not sure POR is the spot. They are slated above OKC in terms of seeding, but between minutes and playoff run potential, I’m not sure he rides with the Blazers.

Corey Brewer isn’t the type of player that’s going to put any one team over the top for the remainder of the season, but he is absolutely a player who could make one or two plays in a playoff game that could shift momentum. He is a reliable veteran defender who you can throw at multiple positions. As long as you don’t ask him to do a goddamn thing he can make a difference, which is why it’ll be interesting to see where he lands. If I had to bet I’d say OKC, I was surprised they didn’t do anything for that position at the deadline, and I doubt given their little slide and regression of their young wings that they avoid the issue once again.