The Los Angeles Lakers agreed to terms on a buyout with forward Corey Brewer on Wednesday, and almost immediately after news began to leak that the Oklahoma City Thunder and Brewer’s college coach, Billy Donovan, were the frontrunners to secure the veteran’s services.
Brewer, who averaged 3.7 points and 1.7 rebounds in 54 games for the Lakers this season, seemed to be a natural fit for the Thunder, who could use extra defensive-minded wing depth in the wake of Andre Roberson’s season-ending injury.
Thus, Shams Charania of Yahoo! Sports confirmed the marriage that everyone thought made sense was going to happen, and that Brewer would indeed be signing with the Thunder once he clears the NBA’s waivers process:
Brewer spoke to Thunder head coach Billy Donovan and general manager Sam Presti on Wednesday night, as well as three Eastern Conference teams, before finalizing his decision on Thursday morning, league sources said. Brewer’s longstanding relationship with Donovan — who coached him as part of Florida’s two national championship teams in 2006 and 2007 — was a significant factor in choosing to sign with the Thunder after he clears waivers on Friday. Brewer will sign a minimum deal for the remainder of the season, league sources said.
Brewer choosing a situation that both feels familiar and gives the nearly 32-year-old forward one more chance to chase a postseason run makes as much sense for him as it makes for the Thunder to look to add one more long, rangy athlete to their rotation, so this is hardly a surprising turn of events.
With Brewer bought out, the Lakers’ roster stands at 13 players as well as two players, Alex Caruso and Gary Payton II, on two-way contracts. It gives the Lakers two roster spots to experiment with players on 10-day contracts to see if they can find another diamond in the rough like they did with David Nwaba last season.
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