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Corey Brewer may have only joined the Los Angeles Lakers towards the tail end of the season, but he still feels the pain of the losing the franchise has endured and wants to help turn things around.
“I want to get the Lakers get back to being great again,” Brewer said following his exit interview with Lakers President Magic Johnson, general manager Rob Pelinka and head coach Luke Walton. “Everybody is tired of losing.”
To that end, Brewer told the media he thought the Lakers’ young players were making progress and had good work habits, but he did allow that they likely needed to show progress next season.
“This summer is about time for them to make the jump. Some of them have been here two, three years now. It’s time to make that jump,” Brewer said. “If you want to stick in the NBA, you have to get better each year. I think this summer is going to be a huge summer.”
Still, he liked what he saw from the team’s young core:
Brewer on Ingram: “Brandon really got better. He works his butt off. Gonna have a big year next year."
— Mike Trudell (@LakersReporter) April 13, 2017
Brewer also singled out Russell, Randle, Nance, Jr. and Zubac for the improvement they made. Thinks all have bright NBA futures.
— Mike Trudell (@LakersReporter) April 13, 2017
Brewer was also impressed with what he saw from Walton is his “rookie” season as a head coach.
“I’ve played for a lot of good coaches. If he wasn’t a good coach, I probably wouldn’t say anything. I wouldn’t put him down, I just wouldn’t say anything,” Brewer said. "Luke is great.”
All stats per NBA.com. and Basketball-Reference.com. All quotes transcribed via Periscope. Harrison Faigen is co-host of the Locked on Lakers podcast (subscribe here, or listen to our thoughts on the season below), and you can follow him on Twitter at @hmfaigen.