OKLAHOMA CITY — Oklahoma City attempted to bolster its backcourt for the rest of this season Thursday by sending a 2014 second-round draft pick to New York for Ronnie Brewer (Fayetteville, Arkansas), who has been on playoff teams five of his first six years in the NBA.
The Thunder have the second-best record in the Western Conference, despite losing three games in a row.
“I think the addition of Ronnie Brewer and the versatility he brings, his understanding of winning basketball certainly helps us, and we were able to do that without disrupting our core playing group at present,” General Manager Sam Presti said in a phone interview. “We want to try to maximize those opportunities in the present. At the same time, the trade exception is something that we’re going to look at strategically going forward.
“So, I feel like we helped ourselves in the present and also put ourselves in position to try to capitalize on something in the future.” With Reggie Jackson taking over as the backup to All-Star point guard Russell Westbrook, the Thunder also shipped free-agent-to-be Eric Maynor to Portland.
The Thunder, already near the NBA’s salary cap with Kevin Durant, Westbrook, Serge Ibaka and others under long term contracts, were unlikely to re-sign Maynor at the end of the season and were able to get back a trade exception for his approximately $2.4 million salary that they will be able to keep for one calendar year.
Oklahoma City also got the rights to Greek forward Georgios Printezis, who hasn’t played in the NBA after being picked by the San Antonio Spurs in the second round of the 2007 draft. He currently plays for Olympiacos in the Euroleague.
Brewer, however, could make an immediate impact if he can find a spot in the Thunder’s rotation that already features Durant, defensive specialist Thabo Sefolosha and sixth man Kevin Martin on the wing. Training camp invitee DeAndre Liggins has earned minutes as a defensive stopper in recent weeks, and that role could shift over to Brewer.
Presti said the decision on when Brewer would play will fall to Coach Scott Brooks.
“He brings in a defensive mind-set, versatility in regards to defending different positions. He’s played for a number of programs that we have a great deal of respect for and has been a part of winning, which we value in him as a player,” Presti said. “And he’s another high-character individual that we feel will fit very well with our current group.”
Brewer has played in 10 playoff series in his career with Utah and Chicago, winning five. He started 34 of the Knicks’ first 35 games this season before being shifted out of the rotation following Iman Shumpert’s return.
“He has started about 300 games with those teams, and those teams are highly competitive. So, I think what it indicates is he really understands how to fit into a group, how to find a way to impact winning and I think he really embraces that,” Presti said.
Sports, Pages 17 on 02/22/2013