The Knicks are trading Ronnie Brewer to the Thunder.

As broke just past the 3 PM NBA trade deadline, the Knicks will trade Ronnie Brewer to the Oklahoma City Thunder. The deal is for a future second-rounder, or, in actual effect, pretty much nothing. The Knicks have long been rumored to covet some of the free agent big people on the market-- Kenyon Martin, for instance-- and this gives them the space to sign someone like that. There will probably be more players bought out after all these trades, so perhaps the Knicks will sit tight and see who shakes free.

Even after knee surgery, Brewer opened the season as the starting small forward and shot quite well, only to have his shot, his confidence, and his overall utility plummet to the point that he was no longer receiving minutes. I imagine he's happy to be starting anew elsewhere, especially with an elite team. Farewell, Ronnie. You weren't much of a Knick, but you seem like a cool guy and you took your sub-minute-long quarter-ending stints in stride.

It's a little shocking that a team with a miserable perimeter defense would dump a competent perimeter defender for nothing at all, but I guess the Knicks had given up on the guy and would rather play the field. We'll see what they can find from said field.

Update: The OKC pick coming to New York is this year's second rounder. Nope, it's the 2014 pick.