"Now," he added, "I feel like I owe it to the team to continue to work hard and continue to get better every day, because they have confidence in me."

They do — though that is not to suggest Brewer's role going forward is etched in stone, either.

On Wednesday, Sloan delivered fair, albeit predictable, warning.

"Somebody's got to beat him out," he said, "(but) he'll still have to earn it again."

Yet Sloan also suggested Brewer may have an expanded role, perhaps playing some at small forward against smaller opposing lineups while backup Kyle Korver plays off-guard and usual starting small forward Andrei Kirilenko shifts to a big man's spot.

"We may be playing them at different positions," Sloan said. "I don't know just yet.

"Andrei might play more 4, he (Kirilenko) may play 5," he added. "I don't know. I have to do whatever I can to win. ... (Playing small) — maybe that's better for us at times. I don't know."

Any and all of that is fine by Brewer, who — though he averaged 12.0 points and 1.7 steals per game last season — frequently watched the conclusion of games while Korver finished them following the veteran guard's in-season acquisition from Philadelphia.

"I don't want to give them a reason why I'm not the person to start the game," Brewer said.

"I can only gain playing time and get better, and that's my whole focus going into camp," he added. "I'm more relaxed, I'm more confident, knowing that I have a job and I'm gonna play."

Sloan, truth be told, seems to sense the same.

"We haven't played any games," the Jazz coach said, "but all the little indicators are there that he's stronger and better than he was a year ago."

Brewer weighs in the 231- to 233-pound range now, adding about 10 pounds' worth of muscle weight to his frame from a season ago.

After spending part of the offseason at a Jazz-favored training site in Santa Barbara, Calif., he is noticeably bulked up in the arms and shoulders — yet he suggested his legs are equally stronger as well.

And Brewer's body fat is down to 3.1 percent, which he believes is lower than or as low as everyone else on the team except reserve shooting guard Morris Almond.

Gaudy numbers, all.

More impressive, though, may be if Brewer is able to improve what he vows he will.

And that is this:

"My intensity," he said, "and getting us going on the defensive end."

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E-mail: tbuckley@desnews.com