Corey Brewer

As mentioned above, Brewer made for an excellent patch-up job on the Thunder's wing rotation after joining them from the Lakers after a midseason buyout. He posted a+16 net rating and blended in well as a streak-shooting, hard-running opportunity scorer alongside Russell Westbrook, scoring consistently while almost never dribbling, while also providing energy defensively. He was no Roberson on that end, gambling rather than thwarting, yet it was a useful combination, and it is a surprise that he remains as yet unsigned for 2018/19. He can do a lot by himself to pick up a team's pace.

[...] That said, the struggles without him were only partly due to Roberson's own impact. In large part, they were also due to the lacklustre options that replaced him. Abrines was a timid shooter who had too many nothing games, Terrence Ferguson took even fewer dribbles than he, and although he was the best defender of the bench, Josh Huestis was somehow even less of an offensive threat that Roberson, while not being the tour de force on defence. Singler wasn't trusted at all, and ultimately, two point guard line-ups featuring Felton became a turned-to option, such was the plight at the position sans Roberson. Brewer shined in relative terms by virtue of being able to play both ends of the court capably, not because he was especially good. [...]

Corey Brewer
SG/SF, 6’9, 186lbs, 31 years old, 10 years of experience

Amazinglydurable but increasingly unproductive. Brewer plays decent if not stand-out defence, and continues to run at every opportunity. But he still cannot shoot save for the occasional random hot night, still tries anyway, and still cannot handle against any kind of pressure. Plays hard still, but more Ronnie Brewer than C.J. Miles, and not trending in the right direction.

Player Plan: One year and $7,579,366 remaining. He will not have trade value as a player, and the expiring contract will not be more useful anywhere else than here. May as well let him play it out, then, with potential for a mid-season buyout.

Sacramento's main cap space rival was Minnesota, who used almost all of theirs in the Melo trade. Their role in that deal saw them change from the mediocre production and limited upside of the struggling Corey Brewer, to the substantial upside yet volatile production of Anthony Randolph. Their cost for making this perceived upgrade in prospects was taking on what's left of Curry's salary, and more importantly, taking on his cap hit. Before the deal, Minnesota had $12,366,964 in cap room, but after shedding Brewer's $3,703,472 and Koufos's $1,298,640, while adding Randolph's $1,965,720 and Curry's post-trade kicker $11,530,592, that number quickly dropped to only $3,873,394.

After last year's draft, it's refreshing to see David Kahn choose somebody who can't dribble. It's not advisable in a man slated to play guard, though. If Corey Brewer can play shooting guard full time, Johnson slides in nicely as a rebounder and athlete who is able to create his own (jump)shot; however, in spite of all his improvements last year, Brewer can't really do this. And even if he could, it's not optimal.