Golden State Warriors: 5 goals for Jacob Evans’ rookie season

1. Earn a spot in the playoff rotation

Last season in the playoffs, swingman Nick Young played in 20 of 21 games and averaged 10.3 minutes per game. Swing guard Quinn Cook averaged the same minutes over 17 games. Those minutes are what Evans should set his sights on for the upcoming season. Not to be just a regular season player, but a postseason one as well.

On some teams, coming in as a rookie onto a contending team and earning consistent playing time in the playoffs would be impossible. Yet the Warriors have never held that against players, and in recent years Patrick McCaw and Jordan Bell have jumped right in and played their part.

Assuming full health, the Warriors have a full rotation up and down the roster. Yet with Andre Iguodala more of a forward at this point in his career, the role of backup 2-guard is still being cast. The minutes could be distributed solely to Shaun Livingston, a three-person rotation with Thompson and Curry when the games matter most. They could go to Quinn Cook as well, a player who showed last season he can play a part on a good team. Patrick McCaw could still return too.

Yet Evans fits the bill of what the Warriors would want in that slot: a player who can shoot, pass on offense and be a versatile defender with a propensity for generating turnovers (and thus lucrative transition opportunities). If Evans can polish up his shot and gain strength, he is their guy.

That is why the Warriors drafted him — he looks the part of what this team needed to add. They have not had a pristine draft record, but they certainly hit on more than they miss. Evans looks like a hit, but this upcoming season will be the first step in proving it. As rookies hit the ground running more and more in the modern NBA, Jacob Evans has a chance to hit his goals from the jump.