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Tyreke Evans Reportedly Agrees to 1-Year, $12 Million Contract with Pacers
July 3, 2018
Veteran guard Tyreke Evans reportedly agreed to terms on a one-year deal worth $12 million with the Indiana Pacers, Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports reported Tuesday.
The 2017-18 season was generally a disaster for the Memphis Grizzlies, but Evans was one of the few bright spots.
He averaged 19.4 points—his highest since his rookie year in 2009-10—and he shot a career-high 39.9 percent from three-point range.
Memphis' 115-112 win over the Los Angeles Clippers on December 23 was one of the high-water marks of Evans' run with the team. He finished with a double-double (30 points, 11 assists) and connected on six of his 11 three-point attempts.
According to NBA.com, the Grizzlies had a 0.3 net rating with Evans on the court, and their net rating fell to minus-11.2 when he went to the bench.
While Evans was one of Memphis' best players, he was never likely to stay with the team for the long term.
The Grizzlies aren't tearing things down entirely, but it's clear they're no longer a serious threat in the Western Conference without significant upgrades to the roster.
Memphis doesn't have many scorers such as Evans who can single-handedly spark an offense, but he was unlikely going to make much of a difference for the team in 2018-19.
And that's to say nothing of the risk the Pacers are assuming by signing the nine-year veteran.
When he's healthy, Evans generally provides a solid baseline in terms of what he can deliver. He's averaging 16.5 points per game over his NBA career, and he connected on 38.7 percent of his three-pointers over the past three years, so his 31.8 career three-point percentage may reflect how good of a shooter he is now.
The problem is, Evans has serious trouble staying healthy. He appeared in just 52 games this past year and played 65 combined games between the 2015-16 and 2016-17 campaigns.
While Evans is a solid addition for Indiana's backcourt, the team should already be prepared for the possibility he misses a stretch of games next season.
He may come off the bench behind starting guards Darren Collison and Victor Oladipo, but he'll likely see plenty of time along that backcourt duo at the 3 in favor of Bojan Bogdanovic, as well.