The Knicks addressed one of their biggest remaining needs yesterday when they agreed to a one-year deal with free-agent shooting guard Ronnie Brewer.
“New York Knicks lets get it!!!” Brewer tweeted yesterday afternoon.
Brewer’s agent, Henry Thomas, confirmed the move, which gives the Knicks a second veteran at the position to pair with J.R. Smith, as well as a strong perimeter defender who can play against scoring wing players at either shooting guard or small forward.
Those were two areas the Knicks needed to fill while Iman Shumpert recovers from knee surgery, with only James White, who played the last few seasons overseas, behind Smith on the depth chart before Brewer’s signing.
Brewer, a six-year veteran, averaged 6.9 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.1 assists for the Bulls last season, when he started 43 games and averaged just under 25 minutes a game. For his career, Brewer has averaged 9.0 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.8 assists in his time with the Bulls and Jazz.
While he’s not much of an offensive threat — a career 24-percent 3-point shooter — Brewer could be a nice fit in the Knicks’ starting lineup alongside Carmelo Anthony and Amar’e Stoudemire as an option who doesn’t need many shots.
Inserting Brewer into the starting lineup also would allow Knicks coach Mike Woodson to bring in Smith as a sixth man and scoring option off the bench. Smith fit nicely into that role last season, averaging 12.5 points, 3.9 rebounds and 2.4 assists in 35 games last season with the Knicks, signing with the team midway through the season after spending the first half of it playing in China.
* The Knicks also made official the signing of point guard Pablo Prigioni yesterday. The 6-foot-3 Argentinean is a veteran of the Spanish ACB League.
The 35-year-old is the third point guard the Knicks have acquired this summer after Raymond Felton and Jason Kidd, and also is a member of the Argentinean National Team. In Sunday’s 86-80 loss to the U.S. Men’s National Team in Barcelona, Prigioni started and finished with eight points, five rebounds and six assists in 33 minutes, including going 2-for-3 from 3-point range.
The Knicks now have 14 players under contract, including a non-guaranteed contract for forward Chris Copeland.