Corey Brewer, one of the best pick-pockets in the league

[Lipoli390]

This idea of Brewer as our starting SF because of his defense is troubling. I just can't get past the fact that he's 185 pounds. Never mind that his 6'8.25 wing span is small for a SF; 185 pounds is way to light to guard NBA SFs.

[longstrangetrip [enjin:6600564]]

I wasn't aware of Brewer's short arms, Lip, but you're right... that is undersized for a small forward. Wingspan and his weight are legitimate concerns that Adelman will have to consider as he allocates SF minutes. I have seen Corey get pushed around by some of the stronger SF's in the league like James and Anthony, but in all fairness, they use their size and strength effectively against almost all defenders. To some extent Corey offsets his size deficiency with quickness and toughness. Ever since his Florida days, he has been fearless in drawing charges, even though he often ends up getting flattened. Charge taking is an art and a very underrated defensive capability, in that it turns an almost certain basket by the opposition into a turnover, and Corey excels at it. And along with his lateral quickness and quick hands, he has become a plus defender despite his size issues. I still think he is the best SF to run out there with Ricky, Martin, Love and Pek.

[KiwiMatt]

Brewers weight (or lack of) isn't neccessarily a bad thing. He is quicker than most opponents and athleticism makes him capable of guarding most SF. Sure he's not going to be able to guard the Lebron's, Carmelo's and Durants of the league, but who can? Not many!

I don't understand why posters are so concerned. I have the upmost faith in him being able to guard 80% of opposition wings.

[Lipoli390]

Longstrange -- I do like Corey's toughness. That can make up for a lot. But i would feel more comfortable going into the season with AK47 as our starting SF. Nevertheless, that's not going to happen and it's not clear it was a realistic possibility once Flip took over. We have several candidates for the starting SF spot -- Brewer, Williams and Budinger. Two of these three are decent NBA players and Williams still has big upside in my view. We'll have to see what happens.

[markkbu [enjin:6588958]]

Lip, are you saying that AK took a 7 million pay cut because of Flip. That seems pretty odd.

[Lipoli390]

Lip, are you saying that AK took a 7 million pay cut because of Flip. That seems pretty odd.

Markkbu --

It's not too hard to piece together what happened based on what has been reported. Doogie said that he spoke directly with AK's agent and asked if Flip ever made him an offer. The answer was no and the Wolves camp did not refute that characterization. His agent also said there was come discussion around a possible 3-year, $21 million deal, but it's not clear whether Flip brought up the possibility of a 3-yr $21 million deal or whether that "idea" came from AK's group. But again, it is clear that no formal offer was made.

Listening to Flip talk about AK from the beginning left the distinct impression that Flip wasn't particularly interested in bringing AK back. In any event, it seems clear that Flip never made an offer. I suspect that AK would have accepted something close to a 3-year, $21 million deal here based on (1) the fact that he took substantially less to be a back-up for the Nets, (2) the fact that he said before last season that he wanted to be a starter and did not want to return to the NBA as a back up; and (3) the fact that he and his family liked it here and that his son was high school here playing hockey.

I just think Flip had something different in mind from the beginning. I think he always had Brewer (or someone similar) in mind -- a high energy, hustle guy to fill out the starting line up and enhance the team's chemistry. Interviewed at a summer league game the other day about the Brewer signing, Flip went out of his way to talk about his belief in the importance of team chemistry. Flip has signed both Brewer and Turiaf. And he was pretty quick to pick up the option on Dante. All of that gives us a sense of what Flip is aiming at and I think he concluded that AK just didn't fit the high energy, tough-minded, all-in profile he envisioned for the supporting cast he is trying to build around Rubio, Love and Pekovic.

I happen to disagree with Flip on this, but I think I can see his thinking and understand why he esssentially let AK go. I actually see AK as a hustle guy who gives 100% effort. But I don't think his personality or style of play fits exactly what Flip was looking for. For example, one thing few know is that AK does not participate in warmups before games. Instead, he stays in the locker room reading a book and doesn't come out on the floor until pre-game introductions. He's generally quiet and cerebral. I don't have a problem with that. But I suspect that didn't sit well with Flip as he considered the types of players he wanted to build this team in a certain image and promote the development of team chemistry.

Obviously, we can't know for sure what happened and I certainly don't. But based on what's been reported publicly and a little information I've gotten from inside, I'm highly confident that I'm right about what happened. Again, I disagree with what Flip probably did and I think we'd be much better off with AK as our starting SF on a 3-year $21 million deal. However, I understand and appreciate what appears to be Flip's thinking on this.

[Jakapoo [enjin:6588675]]

I heard that AK took days off that he could of played, and Adelman was a bit sour on him due to the fact that he needed players to play. I heard it from a moderately good source a while ago. Adelman loved AK's BBIQ, but was disgruntled with Andrei's time off he took. He was a bit of a Pre-Madonna whenever he felt a little bit of pain. I loved AK, but I think this was a big part on his leave.

[DNatagal]

I think AK was a decent fit, but it seemed that the team looked....old? I know he is a great hustle guy, but it just seemed off. I really wish I could explain it better.

Of course I am not able to see into the future, but I am more excited about this team than last years. The overall changes that Flip made are a net positive on paper,

Can we fast-forward to training camps please?

[markkbu [enjin:6588958]]

Lip, like you said, we can't know for certain. The explanation that you provide is not the same thing as, "AK left because Flip is the GM", it sounds more like "AK left because Flip did not think that AK was worth the extension that AK wanted."

I happen to agree with Flip that giving AK a 3 year deal for 21 mill would have been a bad call. I've shared my ideas numerous times about AK missing 20 games each year and this statistical dropoff from the first half of the season to the second half and through the playoffs.

To blame Flip for AK leaving this year just seems off considering the circumstances. I have never heard of a player opting out of a $10 million one year contract to sign a $3 million one year contract. I can honestly say that I don't think that has ever happened before. We are talking about a 70% pay cut.

The Wolves have a similar and better team than last year (with the primary exception being AK). The Wolves have the same coach. AK taking the pay-cut and blaming Flip for that decision just seems fishy.

[mjs34]

Lip, like you said, we can't know for certain. The explanation that you provide is not the same thing as, "AK left because Flip is the GM", it sounds more like "AK left because Flip did not think that AK was worth the extension that AK wanted."

I happen to agree with Flip that giving AK a 3 year deal for 21 mill would have been a bad call. I've shared my ideas numerous times about AK missing 20 games each year and this statistical dropoff from the first half of the season to the second half and through the playoffs.

The Wolves have a similar and better team than last year (with the primary exception being AK). The Wolves have the same coach. AK taking the pay-cut and blaming Flip for that decision just seems fishy.

Sounds like you are splitting hairs on why he left Mark. It was ultimately up to Flip to make an offer, and it doesn't sound like that happened.

San Antonio didn't think the 3 years was a bad deal. They were trying to get AK in a S&T, and the talk was for 3yr/24 mil. I am not a huge fan of AK's, but at 3/21 I would have re-signed him rather than having Brewer at 3/15.

I find it funny that Adelman soured on AK for taking off games. Adelman insisted on playing AK way too many minutes. How did he think he would react?