Days before last season’s NBA trade deadline, the Los Angeles Lakers made a deal to send sixth man Lou Williams to the Houston Rockets in exchange for veteran swingman Corey Brewer and the 28th pick in the draft.
While most of the focus was on the pick that the Lakers received (which was traded for the picks that became Josh Hart and Thomas Bryant on draft night), Brewer adds much-needed experience to a young Lakers team.
While Brewer’s NBA career has seen him primarily act as a role player, he starred in college at the University of Florida, where he helped bring home back-to-back NCAA Championships in 2006 and 2007. Now, he’s being inducted into the University of Flordia Hall Of Fame, as revealed by the Florida Gators website:
Three members of the back-to-back Men’s Basketball National Champions – Corey Brewer, Al Horford and Joakim Noah – join the Hall of Fame. All-American wide receiver Jacquez Green and two-time SEC Player of the Year Matt LaPorta (Baseball) are also among the class.
It is a great gesture by the Gators to put all three players from those teams in together. In the 2007 NBA Draft, the three Gators all went in the lottery, with Horford going third to the Atlanta Hawks, Brewer seventh to the Minnesota Timberwolves, and Noah ninth to the Chicago Bulls.
Next season, Brewer will provide depth for the Lakers at the small forward position, which could come in handy since it appears that Luol Deng’s ideal position is now power forward.
As a steadying veteran presence, Brewer should be a solid wing option behind second-year player Brandon Ingram, and if he proves that he hasn’t lost a step his expiring contract could be valuable at the trade deadline if the Lakers decide to clear out some more space or want to add another player.
