Bulls Rumors: Why Ronnie Brewer Will Be Back in Chicago Next Season

Ronnie Brewer is now an unrestricted free agent, but he will still be a Chicago Bull this coming season.

HoopsWorld.com’s Alex Kennedy reported via Twitter that the Bulls would not keep Brewer under contract.

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The Chicago Bulls won't pick up Ronnie Brewer's option for next season, according to sources. He's now an unrestricted free agent.

— Alex Kennedy (@AlexKennedyNBA) July 10, 2012"

But in an interview with the The Chicago Tribune’s K.C. Johnson, Brewer said, "They might try to sign me back once the dust settles at a lower salary. I will test the market though.” 

The Bulls’ decision to let Brewer go was almost certainly a financial one. Brewer was owed $4.37 million this coming year and management justifiably felt his contribution was not worth that amount of money. 

In 24.8 minutes last season, Brewer averaged 6.9 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.1 steals per game.

At 6’7” and 227 pounds, Brewer has great size for a shooting guard. This allows him to be a defensive stopper, even if he does not contribute on offense.

However, the Bulls have an extremely similar player in Jimmy Butler. The team drafted Butler out of Marquette in 2011, but he did not see the court much in his rookie season.

He is a 6’7”, 220-pound shooting guard who does not have much of an offensive game, but shows fantastic hustle on the defensive end of the floor and has the skills to guard some of the NBA’s better scorers. Sound familiar? 

Butler is an ideal replacement for Brewer, which made the Bulls comfortable in their decision to cut the 27-year-old veteran. 

In addition, long wing players with solid defensive skills are not a rarity in today’s NBA and there are several other players like this on the free-agent market. Brewer now joins the ranks of Mickael Pietrus, Terrence Williams, Matt Barnes and Grant Hill. 

With a competitive market, Brewer likely will not get much attention over some of these other players. This gives the Bulls a decent chance to re-sign Brewer at a discounted price.

Brewer fit nicely as a substitute for Chicago, and if the team has a chance to bring him back, it will likely jump at the option. 

But the numbers have to add up and the Bulls’ front office released Brewer into a free-agent market that will likely allow this to happen. 

This was a shrewd move by the Chicago executives, and it will pay off big if they are able to bring back Brewer and shave a few million dollars of the team’s payroll.