By Mike Piellucci
FOXSportsSouthwest.com
The Mavericks reportedly have won the race to sign free agent swingman Corey Brewer.
According a report by Yahoo! Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski, the Mavericks have beaten out the Spurs, Celtics and others for Brewer's signature. Per the report, Brewer will sign a multiyear deal with Dallas, an unusual move for players who are post-trade deadline buyouts.
Brewer secured a buyout from the Knicks on Monday, roughly a week after he was acquired from Minnesota in the Carmelo Anthony trade. The Florida alum, who turns 25 on Saturday, is averaging 8.6 points and 1.5 steals on the season, and his primary value is on the defensive end of the floor. At 6-foot-9, Brewer has developed a reputation as a sticky perimeter defender with the length to bother forwards as well as guards.
In the short term, Brewer may not make much impact on a deep Mavericks roster that features a set rotation with Shawn Marion and Peja Stojakovic taking up most of the minutes at small forward.
However, by offering up a multiyear deal, the Mavericks clearly are focused on the big picture, and Brewer's defensive prowess could very much play a role on a Dallas team built around getting stops. While Brewer has not lived up to his billing as the seventh pick of the 2007 draft, the Mavericks have developed a tradition for turning other teams' failed picks into contributors, including DeSagna Diop, Brandon Bass, Kris Humphries and most recently Ian Mahinmi.
This likely ends the Mavericks' interest in bringing back Sasha Pavlovic for the remainder of the season, as Dallas' roster is now at full capacity with the Brewer signing.
