New York Times writer slams Brewer after he leaves New York for the Mavs
By Jon Machota
FOXSportsSouthwest.com Special Contributor
March 3, 2011
Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban talked on the radio Thursday about the addition of Corey Brewer. He mentioned that the 6-9 shooting guard could defend four of the five positions on the floor and bring energy to the Mavericks lineup.
Cuban genuinely sounded excited about acquiring a player that he inquired about earlier in the season. One person that Cuban would probably disagree with in his assessment of Brewer is Rob Mahoney of The New York Times.
When Brewer was traded from Minnesota to New York in the Carmelo Anthony deal, Mahoney wrote a critical piece about the player who won two National Championship with Florida.
During the majority of his Feb. 24 article, the basketball writer explained how Brewer, who is known mostly for his defense, is a significant liability on the offensive end.
Mahoney believes Brewer is "using too many possessions on low-percentage shots, and not making the kind of widespread defensive impact that could balance out his offensive deficit."
"Brewer may have played regular minutes for Minnesota, but he's still a very poor offensive player who cannot be relegated to the corner because of his lack of 3-point range," he added.
The article included a few charts that backed the writer's beliefs about Brewer's offensive inaccuracies. The seventh pick of the 2007 NBA Draft averaged 13.0 points last season in Minnesota and shot 43.1 percent from the field. It was easily the best output of his three seasons in the league.
Cuban believes Brewer has plenty of room to grow offensively, saying Thursday: "because we signed him to a multi-year deal (three years), he'll have time to develop his offensive game."
Mahoney sees things differently.
"Brewer is a slashing wing with delusions of jump-shooting grandeur," he wrote. "In general, he has no business taking any shots outside the paint, yet that has never stopped Brewer from firing away before.
"Brewer has no effective range to anchor his offensive performance. He still gets to the rim a fair amount, but poor shooting percentages from every other area on the floor (especially from 3-point range) completely negate the impact of those attempts."
