Tyreke Evans: A Player We Should Pay Attention To

By Christopher Cruz | Mar 1, 2015

Feb 20, 2015; Orlando, FL, USA; New Orleans Pelicans guard Tyreke Evans (1) drives to the basket against the Orlando Magic during the second half at Amway Center. Orlando Magic defeated the New Orleans Pelicans 95-84. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports /

Tyreke Evans was supposed to be the second coming of LeBron James. He received attention from NBA fans by the time his sophomore year came around. I remember reading about him in SLAM Magazine, drawing comparisons to Tracy McGrady, who was the swingman of choice who could score at will.

Evans was raw, sure, but he was athletic and tall, and could handle the ball in a way that people his height shouldn’t be allowed to. He was in high school but was as tall, if not taller, than all of the centers that he faced on opposing teams.

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He received all the accolades that one could ever want in a high school and collegiate career. Then he decided to the league. For some reason, he hasn’t received the kind of accolades that he got when he was in lower levels. Why is that? Well, for one thing, he isn’t a great shooter. Typically, a guy his size and athleticism doesn’t need to rely on his shooting to score points.

Then when he got into the league he realized that his lack of shooting was only going to get so far, mainly because everyone else is as tall and athletic as he is.

OK, maybe not exactly, but truthfully, there are a lot of people who can match him. What I am not saying is that when he got into the league that he didn’t score, or that he wasn’t getting nice stats. His rookie season with the Sacramento Kings, he averaged 20 points per game, 5.3 rebounds and 5.8 assists and did it on 45 percent shooting from the field.

If you’ve paid attention to rookies, the last rookie to do that is LeBron James, and he is pretty good.

But the truth is that Evans was never able to inspire the play of his teammates in the same way that James was able to, and he wasn’t able to string together the great defensive play that James played either. There were times when you’d think that Evans was disengaged on the court, and his teams never made the playoffs.

As a matter of fact, Evans has never been to the playoffs since he has been to the league, which is a stain on his resume.

This year, that should change. The New Orleans Pelicans are really close to making the playoffs, and part of that is because of the amazing play of Anthony Davis. Plus, the Pelicans have a lot of good players on the team such as Eric Gordon, Jrue Holiday and Ryan Anderson. But what I would say is that a huge help for Davis this year is the play of Evans.

Jrue Holiday, Ryan Anderson and Anthony Davis have been out with injuries in what is probably the most brutal stretch of basketball that the Pelicans will play. This is because of the their need to win right now. They are a few games over .500, and only half a game behind the Oklahoma City Thunder for the final playoff spot.

Even with these star players out, the Pelicans have won their last four games. Evans has had to become the primary playmaker for his team, which has made him more LeBron-esque, by forcing him to set his teammates up in half court sets and also on fast breaks. In the last four games, Evans is averaging 10 assists along with 15 points per game.

It has been interesting to see Evans in this new role, because as he has grown, his team has grown. This is a new development in his game.

I don’t suspect that this will be a trend that will continue without his superstar center, but I do think that the way we think about Evans needs to change from being a player who isn’t that good, to a player that is now coming of age. Not all players come of age when they first get into the league, they need time to be groomed, and to be coached well.

Evans is an example of that type of player, and he is only 25 years old. That is still a young player. He will probably never be the Michael Jordan-type player that can lead a team.

But being Scottie Pippen ain’t too bad either.