Three days have passed since Tyreke Evans was spotted at Chase Center watching a game with his former agent and current Warriors president/general manager Bob Myers. The Athletic’s Anthony Slater reported that Golden State was hosting Evans for a second workout as the 32-year-old makes a comeback attempt following a two-year NBA drug suspension.
During his appearance on 95.7 The Game’s “Willard & Dibs” Friday, Slater gave an update on the latest with Evans. Slater told hosts Dan Dibley and Whitey Gleason (filling in for Mark Willard) that Evans scrimmaged on Wednesday in the Bay Area. You can listen to the full interview below:
“No word, essentially. I don’t think anything is necessarily imminent,” Slater said. “It could be a summer partnership. I know Tyreke is trying to get back into the NBA right now. Maybe there’s G League possibilities with him. I think they’re still kinda figuring that out.”
Evans hasn’t played in an NBA game since 2019. During the 2018-19 campaign, Evans averaged 10.2 points and 2.4 assists per game while shooting 38.9 percent from the floor and 35.6 percent from 3-point range. He won the 2010 Rookie of the Year Award with the Sacramento Kings before bouncing around the league, with stops in New Orleans, Sacramento, Memphis and Indiana. The NBA reinstated Evans on Feb. 14 after he served his suspension for “drugs of abuse.”
From Slater’s reporting, you can guess that Evans’ built-up trust with Myers may be a big reason why Golden State seems like a natural re-entry point to the NBA.
“Bob Myers is friendly with Tyreke Evans, Tyreke is his former client,” Slater said. “I do think there’s something of Bob trying to help him figure out his next step, move in the league. Whether that’s with the Warriors now or that’s with the Warriors later, whether that’s somewhere else, I think that’s what’s going on.”
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So long as Evans is signed by the end of the regular season on April 10, he will be playoff-eligible, so perhaps a contender would take a flier on Evans. For his 10-year career, Evans has averaged 15.7 points, 4.8 assists and 4.6 rebounds per game.
Jordan Poole has emerged as a solid secondary playmaker behind Steph Curry in the past few weeks. Draymond Green, the team’s top assist man, is due to return Monday. The Warriors might not have a need for a backup point guard and would need to unload a player to bring on Evans. In the middle of a playoff race, no less.
With the imminent returns of Green and James Wiseman, perhaps big man Nemanja Bjelica will be deemed expendable. Damion Lee and Juan Toscano-Anderson may also be viewed as redundant with the rise of rookie wings Jonathan Kuminga and Moses Moody. If the Warriors want to change the makeup of their roster, next week seems like a good time to do it.
Stay tuned. Myers’ previous connection with Evans adds another layer to the intrigue, but there’s definitely an upcoming window for roster transformation if Green and Wiseman return healthy.
