Report: Corey Brewer in talks to sign with the OKC Thunder

What's the story?

11-year veteran Corey Brewer agreed to a contract buyout with his current team - the Los Angeles Lakers and was subsequently waived. The Oklahoma City Thunder are thought to be frontrunners to sign him for the remainder of the season, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.

In case you didn't know.....

Brewer played college basketball for the Florida Gators for a 3-year period from 2004 to 2007. During this time, he and current Oklahoma City head coach Billy Donovan combined to win back-to-back NCAA championships in 2006 and 2007. Among Brewer's teammates were current NBA big men Joakim Noah and Al Horford, both of whom have made All-Star teams in the past 10 years.

The heart of the matter

Corey Brewer was traded for by Magic Johnson to bring some veteran presence and offense (in particular, 3-point shooting) off the bench for the young Lakers team. Over the course of this regular season campaign, Brewer has been a sporadic player for the team as Luke Walton prefers to start Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and bring in rookie Josh Hart as his replacement from the bench.

Brewer has played an average of 12.9 minutes per game to put up 3.7 ppg and 1.7 rpg. The Thunder has for long been in need of some offense off of its bench, which has consistently been its Achilles heel this season and is 29th in the league in points scored.

Given Donovan's history with Brewer back from the latter's college days, the deal makes a ton of sense for both parties.

What's next?

The Thunder are slated to play back-to-back games against the Phoenix Suns on Friday and the Portland Trail Blazers on Saturday. If signed, Brewer is likely to make his debut against the Blazers, or against the Rockets on Wednesday (Brewer has played for Houston in the past).

Author's take

While Donovan's history with Brewer could quite possibly cause a revival in Brewer's career and make a significant bench contributor out of him, Brewer does not exactly have the best of track records.

Having plied his trade for 5 teams in 11 seasons (he had a second stint with the Timberwolves, who drafted him seventh in the 2007 draft), Brewer has largely been recognized as a streaky shooter at best. While capable of going off on his night, Brewer's lack of consistency is the reason why teams have refused to offer him long-term deals so far.

His defense also leaves a lot to be desired, but it is a lesser concern as the Thunder have one of the best defenses in the league and Donovan could bring the best out of him on the less glamorous end of the floor.