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Jim Eichenhofer: #Pelicans summer head coach Corey Brewer on Derik Queen playing much better in second half after his scoreless first: "I kind of got on him at halftime, to let him know, 'Come on man. Be yourself.' He bounced back great. That's what you want to see."
Corey Brewer: I feel I can still play in the NBA
Corey Brewer retired from the NBA after the 2019-’20 Covid-shortened season at the age of 34. But he frequently wonders if his retirement was premature. “I feel like I can still play (in the NBA),” he said. “It’s one of those things where I decided to coach. Once you make the decision, for me it’s one of those things where I made the decision and you can’t think about it.”
After playing 12 seasons in the NBA, Brewer has spent the past two seasons as a player development and assistant coach with the New Orleans Pelicans. But he’s also spending this summer playing in the Big 3 while rekindling the fire in his belly as a basketball player. “I still want to play,” said Brewer, who is only 36 years old. “I still have that competitive fire in me. Coaching is a little different, because you don’t get to play all the time. You’re trying to teach guys how to play and to help them out. I still feel I’m in great shape.”
“I remember coming from Minnesota, and I had never been in the playoffs,” Brewer told Mavs.com. “And just to come to a different atmosphere in Dallas where every night you’re expected to win, and then when we got in the playoffs, it was an amazing run.” It was amazing for Brewer because he was in his fourth season, and suddenly he was an NBA champion and a teammate of future Hall of Fame players Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Kidd. “You get to play with Dirk, of course, and J-Kidd and Shawn Marion and Jason Terry, Tyson Chandler and Peja Stojakovic,” Brewer said. “Playing with guys who had been in the league for a while – I was in my third or fourth year – they had been doing it for a long time at a high level. So just to learn from those guys and be around those guys, I think it helped me in my career.”
Pelicans assistant Corey Brewer to play in the Big3?
Marc J Spears: Pelicans player development coach and ex-NBA player Corey Brewer is expected to play in the @thebig3 next season, a source told @andscape . 3s Company is expected to add Michael Beasley as a co-captain, Mario Chalmers as player captain, Brandon Rush and Michael Cooper as coach.
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Christian Clark: Zion was playing Corey Brewer in 1-on-1 after practice. Willie Green said he got cleared to play 1-on-1 today. Green: "We still have to be careful with how much he does. Just because he’s still going though the healing process. But we’re happy that he’s getting better."
Corey Brewer: I wasn’t quite ready for my playing career to be over just yet, but when I was presented with the opportunity to join Stan Van Gundy’s staff as a player development coach for the New Orleans Pelicans last offseason, it was too good of an opportunity to pass up. I always wanted to become a coach and I never imagined I’d get to cut my teeth in New Orleans, but here I am.
Corey Brewer: Being around Zion Williamson helped, too. It’s hard to not be excited when you're around someone like him. You can’t truly appreciate him unless you’re around him every day. He’s just incredible. As for the rest of the guys, B.I. is a budding All-Star, Lonzo just had his best season and Josh is getting better every single day. Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Kira Lewis Jr. and Jaxson Hayes are going to have long, productive futures in this league. With all of these guys, I’m so happy to be able to play a small part in their success.
Corey Brewer: Zion truly puts the work in. He’s been working on his shot a lot and is so diligent; he really goes hard. He’s already so great at attacking the basket and being physical, so the next step for him is to add some midrange and continue to develop his three-point shooting. If he’s able to become consistent out there, it’ll open up things for him and his teammates. It’ll also make him literally unstoppable. What’s incredible about him is the fact that even though he’s been getting so much attention for so long, he’s so humble. He really wants to be a great player and is really willing to put in the work. If you didn’t know him, there’s no way you’d ever know that he’s been a household name for so long.
Corey Brewer: Brandon gets better each game. He’s only 23 years old, and his focus for a young player is incredible. Along with Zion, they’re going to make New Orleans a force to be reckoned with for years to come. Brandon himself is going to be one of the top players in this league for a long, long time. What’s been most reassuring about him is that even though he’s been getting individual attention and accolades, his focus is always about what he needs to improve on to make the team better.
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Corey Brewer: At the end of the day, he knows that in order for the team to get to the next level, he needs to continue to improve, and that’s his priority. We’ve been working with him on making quicker decisions, getting to his spots and learning how to counter the looks that defenses are giving him. He’s not a secret anymore; other teams are building defensive gameplans around him and his ability to adjust and learn how to read coverages is really what’s going to help him remain productive and help the team compete every night.
Corey Brewer: If there’s one thing that everyone has been wanting Lonzo to do, it’s shoot more. His shot has come such a long way, and assistant coach Fred Vinson is especially proud since he’s been working on it with ‘Zo so much. The improvement has been amazing. Whenever I talk to Lonzo, the main thing I tell him is to be more aggressive and keep opposing defenses honest. He has all the tools to be an effective scorer in the league, but he’s such a willing passer that sometimes he comes across as being a little passive. This past season, he took a major step forward, though, not only with his shot, but also his ability to play at different speeds and see the floor. He’s a budding floor general.
Corey Brewer: At the end of the day, the more aggressive Lonzo is, the more aggressive the team is and that’s a net-positive for us. His game fits so perfectly with Zion and B.I. that, with those three, we have a chance to be a really good team. It’s exciting! I had the opportunity to play with Lonzo in Los Angeles and his shot has come such a long way since then. He plays the game at his own pace and doesn’t really force anything; it’s just a matter of balancing his patience with some aggression, but overall, he has all the qualities of a truly great point guard.
Corey Brewer was a member of that champion Mavericks squad, and during a recent appearance on All Things Covered with Patrick Peterson and Bryant McFadden he discussed Dallas' mindset heading into that series, including how they felt wholly disrespected by the basketball world. "We were being disrespected," Brewer said. "Nobody even talked about us. It was all about the 'Heatles.'”
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