Not only does Wednesday bring the Memphis Grizzlies’ season-opener, but it features a former fan favorite that was shown disrespect by the Front Office.
Tonight, the Memphis Grizzlies open their 2018-19 regular season on the road as they make their lone annual visit to Banker’s Life Fieldhouse, home of the Indiana Pacers.
The Pacers are no big-time rival to the Grizzlies, at least not by the means in which the Los Angeles Clippers have feared seeing Memphis. However, things will become gritty in this particular season-opening meeting due to a very familiar face.
The matchup at hand solely focuses on Tyreke Evans, who was entering his first and only season with the Memphis Grizzlies one year ago. Today, he is gearing up for the season as a member of the Pacers.
Though hindered by injuries in recent seasons, Evans bounced back in a major way in 2017-18. Initially implemented as the Grizzlies’ Sixth Man to provide an offensive spark off the bench, the injury bug foced Memphis to play ‘Reke as their primary scorer.
He was arguably the team’s Most Valuable Player in the 52 games (32 starts) he appeared as a Grizzly. Evans produced a production line of 19.4 points, 5.1 rebounds, 5.2 assists, and 1.1 steals in 30.9 minutes per game.
Evans would have played closer to the 82-game mark had the Memphis Grizzlies not toyed with his emotions by their failed trade plans. In the lost season, the general idea was to move Tyreke to a contending squad rather than to waste his health and stellar talents.
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After sitting out games while being fully healthy, he was sent home prior to game time versus the Indiana Pacers in late-January of 2018. The kicker is that Memphis did not find a suitable trade partner and Tyreke Evans was retained for the remainder of the season.
In balling out the way ‘Reke displayed, it was costing him dollars by not playing. It made him look bad. At that time, he had NBA Free-Agency heavily on his mind. That is how he landed with the Indiana Pacers during the summer, though he had interest in remaining with the Grizzlies. In sitting, he could not further prove his worth to interested parties.
That is the thing, though. The Memphis Grizzlies did not demonstrate much interest at all in signing Tyreke Evans to another contract. A Memphis legend, plus a solid 19/5/5/1 stat line?! It should have been a no-brainer to do what it takes to keep Tyreke in the 901.
It was not just the lack of Free-Agency rumors between Evans and Memphis surfacing on social media. That was reality behind the scenes, too. Tyreke Evans tells Beale Street Bears “that was the case. No interest, never heard back from them. I had to worry what was the best for me and that’s what I did.”
Talk about a slap in the face to a player that stepped up tremendously in the absence of the team’s best player — Mike Conley — with very short notice.
Rest assured, this is not a personal issue Tyreke Evans has with the players — his former Grizzly teammates. “It’s going to be fun. That’s a great group of guys over there. I was cool with everybody on the team, the coaching staff,” the 29-year-old guard/forward explained.
Regardless, it is something that is well on his mind entering tonight’s Pacers-Grizzlies meeting. It is safe to say that Tyreke is approaching this game with a chip on his shoulder. It is not just any regular season-opening contest.
“We’ll see tonight. I’m not going to talk about it, but I’m more of a game person, so we’ll see tonight,” Evans explained while displaying a smile of confidence.
In Indiana, Evans may have found a permanent home. They have made him feel welcomed from the start.
“Good team, hard-working guys. Guys are coming to work every day. Everybody gets along. It’s pretty much easy for me, this is my 10th year,” proclaims Tyreke Evans.
The Memphis Grizzlies need to hit the Indiana Pacers first in order to compete throughout 48 minutes. It will be tough to overcome the Pacers’ home crowd in addition to a determined Tyreke Evans. Tip-off is set for 6:00 PM Central Time as the Grizzlies look to start their 2018-19 season with a mark in the win column.