Source: Kings bringing Corey Brewer back as NBA prepares to resume season in Florida
Free agent forward Corey Brewer is preparing to rejoin the Kings just in time to revisit his old college stomping grounds in Florida.
A league source told The Sacramento Bee on Monday that Brewer will sign with the Kings during the NBA’s special one-week transaction window, which began at 9 a.m. Pacific Time on Tuesday. Brewer is expected to join the team in Sacramento as the Kings prepare to resume the NBA season at Walt Disney World Resort in Florida.
Brewer chose the Kings over other potential suitors after receiving multiple offers, according to The Athletic’s Shams Charania.
Brewer, 34, is a 6-foot-9 wing who spent the end of the 2018-19 season with the Kings, appearing in 24 games. He averaged 4.1 points, 2.5 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 14.7 minutes per contest.
The Kings signed Brewer to two 10-day contracts in February 2019 and eventually signed him for the rest of the season. Brewer gave the team a defensive spark and a smiling presence in the locker room. The Kings had a roster spot to fill and Brewer has provided quality depth for them in the past.
“It’s a perfect situation, being a wing and being with this young team,” Brewer said upon signing with the Kings in 2019. “The way they like to play, get up and down, is the way I like to play, and they’re trying to make the playoffs, and to me that’s what it’s all about.”
The Minnesota Timberwolves selected Brewer with the seventh pick in the 2007 NBA Draft. Over the course of 12 NBA seasons, Brewer has also played for the Dallas Mavericks, Denver Nuggets, Houston Rockets, Los Angeles Lakers, Oklahoma City Thunder and Philadelphia 76ers.
Brewer has appeared in 814 career games, averaging 8.7 points, 2.8 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.3 steals. He has never averaged more than 13 points per game, but he poured in a career-high 51 points for the Timberwolves in a 112-110 victory over the Houston Rockets on April 11, 2014. He joined Michael Jordan, Allen Iverson and Rick Barry as the only players to post 50 points and six steals in one game.
The Kings are one of 22 teams preparing to resume play after the NBA season was suspended March 11 due to the coronavirus pandemic. Games are expected to begin July 30 at Disney World in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, about 20 miles outside Orlando.
Players will undergo regular COVID-19 testing beginning Tuesday as teams prepare to converge on Florida, where coronavirus cases have skyrocketed over the past two weeks. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported NBA teams are bracing for a significant number of positive tests, noting that four players from one Western Conference playoff team tested positive in the past few weeks.
This will not be Brewer’s first stay in Florida. He was a college standout at Florida under coach Billy Donovan from 2005-07, helping the Gators win back-to-back NCAA titles. Brewer was named Most Outstanding Player of the 2007 championship game.
This story was originally published June 22, 2020 at 5:45 PM.
