Free Agent Cop or Drop?: Tyreke Evans

Tyreke Evans will be an unrestricted free agent this summer. Should the Sacramento Kings re-sign him or let him walk?

Tyreke “Reke Havoc” Evans made his second stint with the Sacramento Kings for the last 25 games of this season. During that span, Evans averaged 11.6 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 2.4 assists per game. For the entire campaign, both with the New Orleans Pelicans and the Kings, Evans averaged 10.3 points, 3.4 rebounds, 3.1 assists per game.

Bottom line, Evans was a solid player for the Kings this season. Not only was he able to put the ball in the bucket, but he was also effective on the defensive side of the ball. Although Evans played pretty solid for the Kings this year, is it enough for Vlade Divac to take the chance and re-sign Evans for the long run?

Cop or Drop?

I do not see a scenario where re-signing Evans makes sense for the Kings. Although Evans played pretty well for Sacramento, he did play a lot of iso-ball on offense which stagnated the ball movement for his team at times.

Also, although Evans can play multiple positions (from the one to the three), he is classified as a shooting guard. The Kings have too many two-guards already on their roster, so bringing back Evans would just create a logjam in the depth chart.

Final Thoughts

Overall, Evans has the ability to be an asset on both ends of the floor. His performance for the Kings this season proves this notion. But because Evans’ game doesn’t really fit with the Kings’ offense and the team also has an inflation of shooting guards is why re-signing Evans would be a mistake for the Kings.

It was entertaining to see Tyreke back with the purple and white for a good minute, but I hope not to see him in those same colors for next season.