NBA Rumors: Lou Williams traded to the Houston Rockets for Corey Brewer

Lou Williams has been traded to the Houston Rockets

Lou Williams has been in a flurry of trade rumors the last few weeks. The Los Angeles Lakers were making it no secret that they had plans to trade him before this year’s deadline. It seemed like he might be moved as soon as today, before the Lakers fired Jim Buss and Mitch Kupchak, but that didn’t stop new President of Basketball Operations Magic Johnson from making a deal.

The Lakers will be sending Williams to the Houston Rockets for Corey Brewer and a first round pick. It’s been rumored all day that multiple teams interested in Williams had created a bidding war, but the exact price the Lakers were asking for was unknown. It’s likely what sent Los Angeles over the top for this deal was the first round pick. That’s solid return on a player they were bringing off the bench this season.

Williams on the Rockets will be an interesting combination. He’s long been a ball-dominant heavy player and how that will mix with James Harden is unknown, but he is shooting 38 percent from 3-point range this season which will allow him to slide into Houston’s offense just fine. He’ll likely still be a presence off the bench in Houston, but Williams is considered one of the better sixth men in the NBA and he should be much happier playing for a contender.

In return, the Lakers receive a member of the 50-point club Corey Brewer. Not really great at any one thing, Brewer’s a good energy guy that can play some solid defense and he knows how to use his athleticism. He’ll do well playing with a young team like Los Angeles that wants to move fast and make use of Brewer’s ability to leak out in transition. All he needs to do is play defense and make open shots. If he does that then he’ll fit just fine in L.A.