Feb 27, 2013; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder forward Ronnie Brewer (8) enters the game in action against the New Orleans Hornets during the second half at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports

It was supposed to be one of the sneaky-good moves at the trade deadline nearly a month ago. The Oklahoma City Thunder acquired Ronnie Brewer from the New York Knicks while only letting go of a second-round pick.

It looked like the perfect acquisition for a Thunder team that was a little thin at the wing position. The Thunder had already seen DeAndre Liggins thrive in limited minutes this season and Brewer was just supposed to be a better version of Liggins.

Then the Thunder re-signed Derek Fisher and amazingly, that has meant basically zero playing time for Brewer.

“There’s not a lot of minutes right now,” Brooks said. “But we’re happy that we have him. It gives us an option if we need it. But right now he just has to stay ready.”

Via The Oklahoman

Brewer shouldn’t be seen as just an option for the Thunder. He is a quality player in this league that’s good enough to start on a number of teams.

It would be different if he couldn’t get minutes because the Thunder were so deep but the fact that Fisher is essentially playing over him makes no sense at all.

Brooks loves Fisher. It’s because Fisher is a great leader and pretty does all of the little things that make a coach feel good. Brooks was also a former backup point guard in this league and perhaps feels some sort of connection to Fisher.

This is a scary development for the Thunder though. The Fisher rental last year made sense. Reggie Jackson wasn’t cutting it as a rookie and Fisher brought some valuable things to the locker room.

But another rental this year and pushing Brewer to the end of the bench is inexcusable.

It’s funny too because there is this thing where you have to be a great, long, athletic athlete usually to find playing time with the Thunder. Brewer is that and Fisher is the opposite. It just doesn’t add up.

The Thunder don’t have the same margin for error that they did a year ago. James Harden is gone and the Thunder can’t afford to let up at anytime once the playoffs come around.

Playing Fisher, whether it’s over Brewer or not, only puts more pressure on Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook.

It’s just very hard to feel good about the Thunder’s chances seeing Fisher get this much run.

Nov 18, 2012; New York, NY, USA; New York Knicks small forward Ronnie Brewer (11) after scoring during the third quarter against the Indiana Pacers at Madison Square Garden. Knicks won 88-76. Mandatory Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports

The newest member of the Oklahoma City Thunder, Ronnie Brewer, will not be making his debut with his new team until Wednesday.

The Thunder play the Chicago Bulls at home tonight but Brewer hasn’t had a chance to practice with the team yet so he won’t be suiting up just yet.

The Thunder acquired Brewer at the trade deadline last week from the New York Knicks in exchange for their own 2014 second-round pick.

Brewer played in 46 games for the Knicks this season and started 34 of those. He was averaging 3.6 points and 2.2 rebounds in 15.5 minutes per game.

Thunder head coach Scott Brooks isn’t worried about there being a learning curve for Brewer to fit in right away.

“He’s a blend-in type of guy,” Brooks said. “He’s not a guy who’s going to demand the ball. He’s not a guy that has a strong personality. He’s an easy going guy that loves to compete. From what I gather, he’s always been one of the guys that you can count on being a great teammate, the guy that’s always committed to doing the team thing and the right thing. … But if the guy wasn’t like that, he wouldn’t be here.”

Via The Oklahoman

The move to acquire Brewer felt like one in response to the Thunder’s second loss of the year to LeBron James and the Miami Heat right before the All-Star Break.

The Thunder simply need another guy to help defend LeBron because Kevin Durant and Thabo Sefolosha were having too tough of a time doing so. Brewer has experience checking the King and should definitely help out in that arena.

The Thunder will host the New Orleans Hornets Wednesday night when Brewer is expected to be activated. He should take a few minutes from Sefolosha in the rotation and definitely all of Liggins’ playing time. The Thunder may even go small more often with Brewer playing instead of Hasheem Thabeet on some occasions.

Dec 6, 2012; Miami FL, USA; New York Knicks small forward Ronnie Brewer (11) reacts during a game against the Miami Heat at American Airlines Arena. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

The Oklahoma City Thunder weren’t expected to do much yesterday when the trade deadline hit at 3 p.m. EST. The Thunder made two moves though at the list minute.

The first one sent point guard Eric Maynor packing to the Portland Trail Blazers for a trade exception. Then the Thunder acquired New York Knicks guard Ronnie Brewer for a 2014 second-round pick.

The moves don’t seem like much but by essentially swapping Maynor for Brewer, the Thunder are in better shape to take on the team that’s proven to be nearly impossible for them to beat: the Miami Heat.

Maynor had fallen out of the rotation and lost his value to this team. He was going to be a restricted free agent in the summer and the Thunder weren’t planning on matching an offer sheet for him, especially considering the emergence of Reggie Jackson.

So it made sense for Maynor to be shipped out. The Thunder reportedly wanted a first-round pick for him but settled for the trade exception and opening up a roster spot for Brewer.

Brewer is known as one of the best perimeter defenders in the league. When he played for the Chicago Bulls from 2010-2012 he would often defend LeBron James.

While no one can shut down LeBron, Brewer has the tools to slow him down. At 6-foot-7, 220 pounds, Brewer can match him with LeBron size-wise.

Before acquiring Brewer, the Thunder really only had Kevin Durant and Thabo Sefolosha to guard LeBron. Durant got in foul trouble far too frequently when attempting to check the King and Sefolosha just seemed a little too small to handle him in the post. Brewer gives the Thunder a much needed extra option to defend LeBron.

Brewer’s impact elsewhere won’t be as great. We might see Sefolosha playing a few less minutes the rest of the season and DeAndre Liggins might start spending more time in Tulsa.

Brewer is not much of a scorer. The most he ever averaged in a season was 13.7 points per game back in 2008-09. He’s only a career 25.7 percent three-point shooter too. He’s an effective slasher though that still manages to shoot 49.3 percent for his career, although that number has been lower in recent seasons.

The Thunder pride themselves on defense and their internal goal is to gain a reputation as one of the league’s elite defenses. That’s why we didn’t see Kendrick Perkins packing his bags yesterday for Marcin Gortat. Perkins brings the defense every night and so will Brewer.

The Thunder got better yesterday. You won’t see it right away but when the playoffs start, OKC has another body that they can go to war with.

Dec 15, 2012; New York, NY, USA; New York Knicks small forward Ronnie Brewer (11) moves the ball as Cleveland Cavaliers point guard Kyrie Irving (2) defends during the first quarter at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports

The Oklahoma City Thunder have made another trade just before the trade deadline today.

The Thunder have sent their own second round pick to the New York Knicks for Ronnie Brewer. The Thunder also acquire the draft rights to Giorgios Printezis in the deal.

This is a huge pickup for the Thunder who were desperately in need of another perimeter defender.

Brewer has earned a reputation as a great defender and should fit in well with the Thunder. He is kot a great perimeter shooter but he is a great athlete and another body the Thunder can throw on LeBron James.

The Thunder seem very committed to small ball with this move. They know they need to get deeper at the wing position and Brewer is a perfect fit.

Brewer was averaging 3.6 points and 2.2 rebounds in 15.5 minutes per game for the Knicks this season. He was shooting 36.6 percent from the field and 31.0 percent from the three-point line.

Brewer was one of the defenders the Chicago Bulls used to defend LeBron two years ago in the Eastern Conference Finals.

The Thunder will play their next game tomorrow night at home vs. the Minnesota Timberwolves.