You gotta love that a playoff (maybe championship) contender is willing to sign a guy to a multi year deal that the Knicks just gave away for nothing. And if they had the means to do so, two other championship contenders (Spurs, Celtics) would haev offered the same thing.
Maybe the Knicks are getting the big moves right but they are far from championship level as far as management goes if they continue to screw up the little moves!
Who should they have cut instead of him? Other than Andy Rautins (who they are apparently high on, but who knows if he is a player), I think they made the right call. Brewer did not fit into their system at all, and Jeffries will help them much more (he played very well for them last year).
Derrick Brown is a little more questionable, but I think he is a quality prospect who fits into what the Knicks do better than Brewer, and gives them a little more size up front.
So, since Brewer did not fit in well, and likely wouldn't have helped them this year, and they likely would have just let him walk this summer as a free agent, it makes sense that they let him go now to bring in guys who could fill more immediate needs.