Ronnie Brewer was among the summer’s less glamorous free agent acquisitions, but the Chicago Bulls were nonetheless fortunate to procure his services at a reasonable cost. He may be lacking in flash and shooting ability, but Brewer is a solid wing defender, a nice complementary talent, and a smart offensive player who rarely steps outside himself. He won’t kill a team’s offensive flow with assertive shot attempts, a valuable trait for a role player.
Brewer was penciled in as a starter for the Bulls this year, but a preseason hamstring injury limited Brewer and afforded Keith Bogans an opportunity to swoop in and compete for the job. According to Nick Friedell of ESPN Chicago, Bogans will start in the backcourt alongside Derrick Rose when the Bulls play the Thunder tomorrow, though I’d estimate that in all likelihood, Brewer will rejoin the starting lineup at some point down the line.
When comparing the two players, the only area in which Bogans is definitively superior is three-point shooting. Brewer has never been much of a shooter from any distance, as his career .234 mark from long range would attest. Bogans isn’t a knock-down three-point threat per se, but he has hit threes at an above average rate over the course of his career (.351), which could prove useful in a starting lineup otherwise devoid of consistent three-point shooters. I suppose Thibodeau may see Bogans as splitting the difference between Brewer and shooter extraordinaire Kyle Korver, though I’m not sure Bogans’ particular medium is a happy one. He’s likely better served as a bench complement, though the onus is now on Brewer to reclaim what is rightfully his, and usher Bogans back into a more natural role.