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Ronnie Brewer

Eastern Links: Rose, Irving, Iverson

March 30th, 2013 at 9:55pm CST by Ryan Raroque

Thunder reserve Ronnie Brewer tells Shams Charania of RealGM he thinks that "it was unfortunate" that the Bulls announced Derrick Rose was cleared to play, elaborating that being 110% mentally ready is just as important as being physically ready: "I don’t think anybody really knows…I don’t think the doctors know. I don’t think any of the players know. Whatever it is, I don’t think he should rush back and not be confident to play, because if you’re not playing with confidence, then everything goes out the window.” 

Here's more out of the Eastern Conference tonight: 

  • There was some confusion about Kyrie Irving's status coming out of Cavaliers camp today, as forward Luke Walton hinted that Irving could be coming back soon shortly after Byron Scott told the media that there weren't any updates on the second year point guard (other than he was getting shots up at practice). Jodie Valade of the Plain Dealer clarifies that Irving has been working out hard before games and made note that he has reached the third week of a three-to-four week recovery period since spraining his shoulder earlier this month. 
  • During tonight's game between the 76ers and Bobcats, Dei Lynam of CSN Philly caught up with Allen Iverson, who says: "If the road ends here (with regard to not playing again), I'm fine with it…I'm happy and content with everything that's going on in my life…If I get a chance to play again, then I would love the opportunity, but if not, I would continue to just be happy."
  • Tom Moore of Philly Burbs looks at the options that Philadelphia has this offseason, whether it involves making a significant signing and filling out the roster with minimum contracts, dangling Spencer Hawes, Lavoy Allen, or possibly Evan Turner in trade talks, or look at one-year deals as a means of maintaining flexibility the following summer. 
  • Mike Bianchi of the Orlando Sentinel uniquely describes the value of cap flexibility for the Magic moving forward. 
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Sam Presti Talks Brewer, Maynor, Roster Spot

February 22nd, 2013 at 1:38pm CST by Luke Adams

The Thunder didn't participate in any major deals at the trade deadline, but the club did make a couple minor moves, sending Eric Maynor to Portland for cap relief and a trade exception, and acquiring Ronnie Brewer from the Knicks for a future second-round pick. General manager Sam Presti spoke to Darnell Mayberry of the Oklahoman about those moves and the team's plans for its empty roster spot. Here are the highlights:

On the decision to trade for Brewer:

"I think the opportunity to add a player like Ronnie without dipping into our immediate player rotation was something we feel like we needed to pursue. He brings a defensive mind-set, versatility as a perimeter defender, and he comes in with over 300 games started. But more impressive to us is the fact that he’s played for some organizations that we really have a lot of respect for. In addition to that, he’s a high-character, hard-working individual that we feel like is going to fit well with our current group."

On whether the Brewer acquisition was made with LeBron James and the Heat in mind:

"Well, I think just in today’s NBA one of the things that is certainly valued is versatility. And for our team, a team that wants to continually improve defensively and establish a standard of play on both ends of the floor, we want to try to be as flexible and versatile in styles of play as possible. But we certainly aren’t looking at one particular team because what’s served us well as an organization and as a team is to always focus on the next day. And if we’re starting to look at things down the line, I think that would be inconsistent and probably inappropriate for us."

On the Maynor trade:

"Obviously Eric is someone that we think very highly of, and I think he’s going to be a very productive player in the NBA for years to come. But we also recognize that he was going to have opportunities at the end of the season as a free agent, and we had to figure out the best way to maximize that situation given that he wasn’t playing on a consistent basis with us. The [$2.34MM] trade exception essentially gives us flexibility in terms of roster building, again, to try to make additions to our core group without infringing on that group. It’s going to give us flexibilities during the draft and also as we head into free agency. We’ll try to be as creative as possible, but we’re also going to be very disciplined with it."

On the Thunder's open 15th roster spot:

"I’m going to sit down with [assistant GM] Troy [Weaver] and [head coach] Scott [Brooks] and spend some time working through that and figuring out what direction we want to go. But it’s something that we want to evaluate, and I think we will look to do something in the future."

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Kennedy On Trade Deadline Winners

February 21st, 2013 at 8:17pm CST by Sean Highkin

Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld posted a new column examining the reasoning why many teams opted to stand pat at the trade deadline rather than make any major deals. He also wrote that, although the trade deadline was relatively uneventful, it could set up an exciting summer of trades and free-agent signings.

Kennedy also ran down the teams he thought improved with deadline deals:

  • Kennedy thinks J.J. Redick will be valuable to the Bucks as they push for a playoff spot.
  • The Thunder added Ronnie Brewer at little cost, and Kennedy believes he will form a formidable perimeter defense tandem with Thabo Sefolosha.
  • Kennedy praises Rockets GM Daryl Morey for acquiring the fifth pick in the 2012 draft, and believes Thomas Robinson will flourish in a better situation than the one he was in with the Kings.
  • The Raptors picked up Sebastian Telfair, giving them a serviceable backup for Kyle Lowry at little cost, Kennedy writes, also noting that Telfair has strong relationships with several players already on the team.
  • Kennedy praises the Blazers for acquiring much-needed bench help in Eric Maynor.
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Recap Of Deadline Trades

February 21st, 2013 at 7:44pm CST by Sean Highkin

A complete recap of trades that were completed before Thursday's trade deadline:

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Thunder To Acquire Ronnie Brewer

February 21st, 2013 at 2:37pm CST by Luke Adams

2:37pm: The second-round pick heading to New York in the deal will be the Thunder's own 2014 selection, tweets Sam Amick of USA Today.

2:24pm: The Thunder and Knicks have agreed to a deal that will see Oklahoma City acquire Ronnie Brewer in exchange for a second-round pick, according to Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman (via Twitter). It was Mayberry who first reported that the Thunder were expected to land Brewer (Twitter link).

The Knicks had been shopping Brewer this week in an attempt to clear a roster spot, as Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com noted today. Now just carrying 14 players on their roster, the Knicks could take a flier on a free agent – perhaps Kenyon Martin, or Jermaine O'Neal if he receives a buyout – without having to release a player on a guaranteed contract.

For the Thunder, it was a small price to pay to add a solid defensive guard who had fallen out of the Knicks' rotation in recent weeks. Brewer, 27, had started 34 games for New York, but didn't seem to fit with the team nearly as well as he did with the Bulls' "Bench Mob" over the last couple seasons. So far this year, Brewer has recorded a career-low 10.2 PER.

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Afternoon Rumors: Turner, Bargnani, Rockets, Cavs

February 21st, 2013 at 1:52pm CST by Luke Adams

A few last-minute rumors as the 2:00pm deadline approaches….

  • Evan Turner's name is "all over the place" in trade talks, but the Sixers aren't expected to move him today, tweets Ken Berger of CBSSports.com.
  • There doesn't seem to be any progress on an Andrea Bargnani deal, tweets TNT's David Aldridge, adding that the Raptors seemed to recognize a week ago that they wouldn't be able to move Bargnani.
  • The Rockets likely won't make another deal today, but count on them being active this summer, tweets Ric Bucher of 95.7 The Game.
  • As an executive tells Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal, the Cavaliers don't have many options that won't negatively affect their cap flexibility, so they've been relatively quiet (Twitter link).
  • The Knicks are still working to move Ronnie Brewer, tweets Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com.
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Kyler’s Latest: Suns, Redick, Lakers, Novak, Blair

February 21st, 2013 at 8:17am CST by Luke Adams

With less than six hours until today's trade deadline, Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld explores a few of the latest rumors in his NBA AM piece. Here are the highlights:

  • Besides Jermaine O'Neal, Sebastian Telfair is another candidate to be a roster casualty once the Suns finalize their acquisition of Marcus Morris, says Kyler. If Phoenix trades either player for virtually nothing, the Grizzlies, who have seven trade exceptions and a need to add a 13th man to their roster, could get involved.
  • As they explore J.J. Redick deals, the Magic continue to seek a high-level first-round pick or a package that includes a young player and second-round picks. Several teams have questioned whether it's worth meeting that asking price for what could be a 30-game rental of Redick, according to Kyler.
  • If the Lakers make a trade, it's expected to be one that reduces their luxury-tax bill rather than one that drastically changes the roster.
  • In addition to shopping Ronnie Brewer, the Knicks have also made Steve Novak available. The duo isn't drawing a whole lot of interest though.
  • The Hawks are a potential destination for DeJuan Blair, particularly if Atlanta finalizes a Josh Smith trade.
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Knicks Shopping Ronnie Brewer

February 20th, 2013 at 3:08pm CST by Luke Adams

While Knicks coach Mike Woodson has said he doesn't expect his team to make any moves before tomorrow's trade deadline, New York is shopping Ronnie Brewer, according to Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com (via Twitter).

It's not clear who exactly the Knicks are targeting, but they've been linked to various guards and bigs within the last week or two, including Luke Ridnour, Jared Dudley, and Jermaine O'Neal, along with free agents like Kenyon Martin and Louis Amundson.

Since averaging nearly 23 minutes per game in November, Brewer has been nearly entirely removed from the Knicks' rotation, so he likely won't have much value on the trade market. Still, he's on a minimum-salary one-year deal, so if the team is determined to move him, it probably wouldn't be too hard to find a taker.

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Suns Pursuing Iman Shumpert

February 10th, 2013 at 11:18am CST by Sean Highkin

11:18am: Woodson has spoken with Shumpert, but he can't assure him he won't be traded, Newsday's Al Iannazzone tweets.

10:48am: Knicks coach Mike Woodson seemed to downplay the idea of any Shumpert trade in his remarks to reporters, including Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv (Twitter link). 

"Sure, we talk to him and we show him love and we tell him he's a big part of what we're doing. Those are just trade rumors," Woodson said. 

SUNDAY, 9:04am: Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com hears the Knicks are unlikely to bite on a Shumpert-for-Dudley deal.

SATURDAY, 7:53pm: Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld adds on to Wojnarowski's report, saying that the Knicks would rather move Ronnie Brewer than Shumpert, but the Suns are intent on acquiring the second-year guard.

6:55pm: Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reports that the Phoenix Suns are pursuing a trade for Knicks guard Iman Shumpert. The Suns would offer a package including guard Jared Dudley and could possibly include a first-round pick as well.

Shumpert has been linked to the Suns since this summer, when they attempted to acquire him in a sign-and-trade with the Knicks for Steve Nash before Nash ultimately went to the Lakers. Saturday morning, Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld reported the Knicks' interest in Dudley, although Wojnarowski writes that New York is hesitant to do this trade.

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Atlantic Notes: Stoudemire, Ross, Raptors

December 22nd, 2012 at 9:24pm CST by Ryan Raroque

Despite the Knicks' early season success, one important question revolves around how Amare Stoudemire will integrate himself within the team's current chemistry once he is finally ready to return from injury. With that in mind, the answer to that question will have to be put on hold a little bit longer, as Al Iannazzone of Newsday writes that Stoudemire isn't quite ready to participate in games just yet. Coach Mike Woodson, who met with his forward earlier today, said that he'd like to see Amare go through more practice time and gave the impression that a return during the team's three-game road trip was unlikely. Here's the rest of what we've heard out of the Atlantic Division tonight: 

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