Memphis Grizzlies: Tyreke Evans has been offseason’s biggest bargain
By Dennis Dow
The stellar Tyreke Evans has played anchored the Memphis Grizzlies’ bench. At such a cheap price, has he been the offseason’s biggest bargain
The season is young, and the Memphis Grizzlies now stand at 6-4. Their record is better at this point than some may have thought, and they have some good wins. Part of their early-season success has been the play of the bench — specifically Tyreke Evans.
If you didn’t hear anything about the Grizzlies game against Orlando, you should check out the recap. Evans had himself a game!
Evans has looked great in his eight games with the Grizzlies. He’s has been huge off the bench for the Grizzlies, averaging 16.1 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 2.7 assists per game. Not to mention, he has shot lights out since the start of the season. He’s currently shooting nearly 44 percent from 3.
To some this has been shocking to see Evans play like this, but he has been doing this his entire career. Looking at his career stats, they’re almost a mirror to what he’s doing now. The differences being that Evans is the Human Torch from 3 this season as he’s a 30 percent career 3-point shooter. Another difference would be his assist numbers — over 5 per game for his career — as they’re a little lower this season.
This begs the question, why was he available for the Memphis Grizzlies to sign at such a bargain price of 3.29 million dollars on a one year contract?
Big Bargain
The free agent market was extremely tough this summer, which has worked out for the Grizzlies. Tyreke Evans is a unique player in the NBA with a unique skill set. He’s a scoring wing, but has played point guard at times in his career and is a capable playmaker. However, has he demonstrated that he’s a winning player? In his previous eight seasons in the NBA, he has played for a team with a winning record once — with the 2014-15 Pelicans playoff team.
Evans had one of the best seasons not only in his career, but did something not many others in the league have done. He put up 16 points, 6 assists, and 5 rebounds per game in under 35 minutes per game to join some good company.
After that 2015 playoff series with the Pelicans, Evans had two injury-riddled years before being dealt to Sacramento for DeMarcus Cousins. The last two years, Evans only played in 65 games. He signed a one-year deal with the Grizzlies and looks healthy.
The Grizzlies are the best team that Evans has ever played for in his career, which is saying something. He’s playing with two established stars in Marc Gasol and Mike Conley — who both are great passers and successful off the ball. However, playing next to Chandler Parsons could be great for Evans. He and Parsons (when healthy) are both versatile wings that can pass and drive to the basket. At the moment, both of them are shooting great from 3, making them much more difficult to deal with. Over half of Evans’ minutes this season have come with Parsons on the floor, and as a two man combination, they are outscoring opponents by 18.5 points per 100 possessions.
Evans has played the majority of his minutes with the bench unit of Dillon Brooks, Mario Chalmers, Chandler Parsons and Brandan Wright. That unit has outscored their opposition by an average of 18.7 points per 100 possessions. The numbers get even better when Evans shares the floor with Conley and Gasol.
It’ll be interesting to see how much the coaching staff tweaks the rotation, but Evans should be playing crunch time. His ability to make plays and create his own shot isn’t something that the Grizzlies on the wing have had in some time.
Related Story: Tyreke Evans: Grizzlies' biggest X-Factor
Closing Remarks
Tyreke Evans has been a pleasant surprise for the Memphis Grizzlies, and he has proven throughout his career that he can produce. His production will be needed if the Grizzlies have any hopes of making the playoffs. One thing is for sure, if he keeps this up, the Grizzlies are going to need more than $3.29M to keep him around.