This past week, the Beale Street Bears site experts took questions from fans off Twitter. To start us off, we’ll evaluate the Memphis Grizzlies’ chances of keeping Tyreke Evans.
The Memphis Grizzlies made a really gutsy decision to keep Tyreke Evans. While they sat him out for a week in anticipation of a trade, they still didn’t pull the trigger on the deal. Most offers included a second-round pick and a young prospect (more notably Emmanuel Mudiay). The team indeed thinks they have a shot of re-signing him with the mid-level exception — which is one of the reasons why they didn’t complete a trade.
Keeping a veteran playing the best basketball of his career during a tank-worthy season is confusing. Now, the Grizzlies have to re-sign him, which leads us to our question …
50 percent chance
There’s a chance Tyreke Evans stays in Memphis this summer. The University of Memphis product has expressed that he loves the city and loves playing in it. The main concern with this, though, is money. It talks.
News broke that Chris Wallace and the Memphis Grizzlies intend to try to use MLE to re-sign Evans, but it just takes one team. We saw with Zach Randolph. He obviously adored Memphis and build a special bond with the city, but Sacramento offered him more money. Don’t cross out the same happening with Tyreke Evans.
There will be teams who can offer just a little more than the Grizzlies, and these same squads could eventually swoop Evans away from Memphis. Who says the Chicago Bulls don’t want to do what the Kings did this past offseason and overpay veterans? Who says the Philadelphia 76ers won’t give Evans — who’s from Pennsylvania — the “JJ Redick” special? Maybe, the Lakers really want to save up for the 2019 offseason and give Evans a fat one-year deal. Teams like Dallas and Indiana have cap space, and they could target Tyreke Evans.
All it takes is one team drain away the Grizzlies’ chances with Evans. If that happens, the Grizzlies will quickly regret their decision at this year’s trade deadline. There’s the possibility that he returns to Memphis; don’t get your hopes up, though.
Next: All-Star Break Reviews: Tyreke Evans
How likely is it for the Memphis Grizzlies to retain Tyreke Evans? Comment your thoughts below.