Corey Brewer played for a number of NBA teams during his 13-season NBA career, but he experienced his best years with the Minnesota Timberwolves.
The former two-time NCAA National Champion was selected by the Timberwolves in the 2007 NBA Draft as one of their key building blocks in the post-Kevin Garnett era. Brewer — who now plays in the BIG3 League as a member of the Detroit Amps — had two different stints with the T-Wolves (2007-2011, 2013-2015) and became just the fourth player in NBA history to score 50-plus points and record six-plus steals in a game when he accomplished the feat back in 2014.
While the Timberwolves went through a long playoff-less drought during that time frame, that is no longer the case now. They’re a bonafide annual Western Conference contender that made back-to-back conference finals appearances in recent years.
However, they’ve undergone a new look this offseason as they moved on from former All-Star forward Julius Randle. Randle had been a part of the Western Conference Finals team from two seasons prior and was one of the building blocks of the team along with Anthony Edwards.
The Timberwolves acquired former Charlotte Hornets All-Star guard LaMelo Ball to create a new two-star pair. The hope is that the new star duo will be able to lift Minnesota over the hump.
Brewer believes Edwards and Ball is a great pairing and that they’ll make it work.
“I actually like that pairing just because I think LaMelo, he’s getting a lot more serious about basketball,” said Brewer in a one-on-one interview with Heavy Sports. “I guess you can say he wants to win, and he’s playing winning basketball. If you look at last year, what he was doing, the way he was playing, and everybody always gives him a hard time, ‘Is he a winner?’ I think he’s gonna be a winning basketball player, and I think it’s a good move for him. A new place, fresh start. Playing with Anthony Edwards, so they’re gonna be fun to watch. Both those guys are very talented, and they’re gonna be fun to watch. Let’s put it that way.”
Corey Brewer Confident LaMelo Ball Will Mesh Well With Anthony Edwards
It’s clear that the Timberwolves had reached a glass ceiling with Randle, regressing slightly this year as they were eliminated in the Western Conference semis by the San Antonio Spurs. With the Spurs and the Oklahoma City Thunder as the superior Western Conference teams, Minnesota needed to change it up — and they did by making a blockbuster trade for Ball.
Ball averaged 20.1 points and 7.1 assists per game this past season while leading the Hornets to the play-in tournament. Brewer said Ball will be the ball distributor and Edwards will be the primary scoring option for the T-Wolves.
“I think eventually, once they start playing together, they’ll learn to play off each other, and I think it’ll work,” said Brewer. “He’s gonna be a scoring option, and LaMelo knows that LaMelo’s gonna be able to get his. Melo’s gonna make everybody better. The way he passes, the way he plays, he plays so fast. He’s gonna have those guys rolling.”
Corey Brewer Making His Mark in Ice Cube’s BIG3 League
Brewer is playing this weekend as his Amps (1-5) take on the best team in the league in the Dallas Power (5-1) at Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, Florida at the Florida Panthers‘ home arena. The 40-year-old said he has no plans of retiring anytime soon after making his debut in the half-court three-on-three basketball league back in 2022.
“I want to play until I stop loving it,” said Brewer. “To be honest, I still love it. I still work out, get in shape for it. I take it serious. Until I’m to the point where I don’t want to do it no more, I don’t want to get back in shape, or I don’t want to stay in shape. That’s when I’ll stop.
“My kids get to watch me play,” Brewer continued. “My kids are older now, and they were little when I was in the league. It’s kind of cool just to let them see me play basketball at a high level, especially my 12-year-old. He’s been seeing me for the last four years. He goes on every trip with me. Everybody knows him in the BIG3.”
Ex-Timberwolves Vet’s Bold Take on LaMelo Ball’s Fit With Anthony Edwards