How do you feel about picking Evans?

[Entity]

Found this great post by agent23 of the Bee forum.

"I find it laughable that some people have pegged Tyreke Evans as a ball hog and a guy who just runs isos all day long because thats just the player he is. Well folks, its the kind of offense they run in Memphis. It's called the "Dribble Drive Offense." Derrick Rose was the lead guard for that team. No one accused him of being a ball hog. Tyreke Evans ran the same offense. Yet since everyone as this almost gayish crush on Ricky Rubio, all of a sudden Tyreke Evans is a ball hog who dominates the whole shot clock before jacking an ill-advised shot. Everyone, take a deep breath. The Sacramento Kings selected the right player. Geoff Petrie's draft record is sterling the last few years, of course save the Doubinator.

Derrick Rose's Stats in his freshman year: 15 ppg 5 rebs and 5 asts a game
Tyreke Evans' Stats in his freshman year: 17 ppg 6 rebs and 4 asts a game

Wow. The Sacramento Kings picked a really bad player. Let's not be fan anymore."

 

[LilMissDiva]

Well, it would be really unfair of me to be totally down on this pick. I do not know how the future will pan out, but I can make an educated guess.

I would have much rather seen Ricky Rubio here, for his passing ability is truly phenomenal. I loved it when I would watch Vlade's amazing skills back in the day, and it would be nice to see that again in our team. Rubio seemed exciting and would have loved to go to some games just to watch him grow and play.

However, we did not pick him... so I have to welcome Evans. I suppose he, according to our front office, has something more valuable. I'm not exactly sure what that is yet. I'll give him the benefit.

But for now, I'm not really happy with the outcome.

 

[Rookie]

I'm happy with the pick. I enjoy the hype with Rubio but always have doubt in him. Wouldn't bother me if we pick Rubio but Evans is a good solid pick.

 

[LilMissDiva]

What about Ricky Rubio would give this team an identity?

The FANS are what give a team their identity. If the fans love the player, and the opponents of the team recognize the player, the team has an identity.

 

[LilMissDiva]

I think we were going to rename the team to the Sacramento Rubios. We would paint a big Spanish flag in two corners of the court and play Spain's national anthem at the start of each game. Also there were plans for a Tapas bar in the main concourse but those have since been nixed in favor of a falafel joint.

LOL! Love it!!

 

[MassachusettsKingsFan]

After alot of back and forth ( in may head ) about this pick, Ive come to accept it. I really wanted Curry, and would have been happy with Rubio but was left with Evans.

I think Curry is better suited as a point in the NBA than Evans, which is what we need .. I can understand passing on Rubio because of the bust potential there .. but if we like Evans than I can live with it. Westphal says he will play point, which is good news that maybe he can play it. Alot of people are saying he is ball dominate ( ball hog ) I hope he can change that tag .. he is going to need to...

The thing is, in a draft where there were no sure things ( Rubio fans can say he was a sure thing, but he wasnt ) Evans will give you something ..

 

[Jerryaki]

this thread is arguing about the wrong players. who cares about evans or rubio? the best point guard in this draft was brandon jennings.

i know because he said so.

 

[NewArena]

I (along with my family at our yearly party) all collectively yelled out "AWWWWWWWWWWWWW"! I left the room and got on my laptop to voice my disapproval, my brothers slammed the door and left, and my dad (who is a huge Memphis Tiger fan) said "The Kings just got themselves a new ball hog".

Then I spent the next half hour to hour checking for trades and listening to my dad say how he is not renewing his season tickets and F*** the kings and so on and so forth. When I knew a trade was not happening I just left for home and swallowed that huge lump in my throat and prepared myself for all the insults I would receive on this site for voicing my disapproval.

Well at least you prepared...

 

[mac]

LOL! Love it!!

Tell me that's not a puppy in your avatar

 

[NoBonus]

My quick thoughts: I am glad the franchise was able to withstand the pressure to take Rubio who appears to be a primadonna (I only want to play in California? What is that?) They took the right guy to win basketball games... I think of Evans like a Deron Williams type and Rubio like a Jasom Williams type. Which Williams would you rather have?

 

[Geoff]

The Kings made the safe pick for now, rather than the risky pick that may have paid off later...

I dunno, I trust GP but sometimes you have to go outside of what seems to be safe at the moment. Musselman was a safe pick for coach based on the evidence. I know that GP can do risky stuff, like bringing in Artest. That move paid off for the most part. Hopefully this won't end up being another Darko vs. Melo/Bosh/Wade...

 

[Rockmeister]

Tyreke Evans' Stats in his freshman year: 17 ppg 6 rebs and 4 asts a game

Wow. The Sacramento Kings picked a really bad player. Let's not be fan anymore."

If Tyreke is our PG of the future, well, 4 assists a game is really good.

 

[Warhawk]

If Tyreke is our PG of the future, well, 4 assists a game is really good.

Our offense has typically not been PG driven and a lot of the assists have come from the other positions as well. We'll have to see what kind of system they use next year, but with Coachie on the staff, I think this trend will continue.

FYI - from 2001 to 2003 Mike Bibby only averaged 5 to 5.5 assists per game during our "run."

 

[Heuge]

Crap, I thought we traded Salmons away. We just drafted his twin.

 

[acisking]

I don't see the point of picking Evans when we already have Martin at that position; Evans looks much more like an NBA 2-gaurd than an efficient point.

 

[Ryan]

Rubio is overrated. Evans' a stud. I'm a little concerned about his attitude, but that's the only downside for me.

 

[allrightythen]

I was kinda leaning toward Evans before the pick so there was a little relief when we picked him.

 

[Dreadnought]

I just really wish Kings traded down. We probably could have nabbed Tyreke with the 6th-10th pick.

However, if Tyreke becomes the next Dwyane Wade, I won't mind.

 

[NME]

This is bigger than the stats. Rose has terrific court vision and really focused on making his teammates better. Evans really didn't and one of the knocks against him was that he can be a little selfish in dominating the ball. Doesn't mean he isn't a good player but hardly what the Kings needed. Especially when what they did need was right there for the taking.

So, Rose really concentrated on passing and Evans didn't try at all, and the difference was 0.8 assists per game?

 

[BibbyFAN10]

Kevin Love just twittered "Rubio staying in Spain according to his father." ESPN reporting his father says he may stay for two more years.

 

[rhythmless]

Kevin Love just twittered "Rubio staying in Spain according to his father." ESPN reporting his father says he may stay for two more years.

Saw that too. This scenario is exclusive to Minn though. Rubio would be elated to come to Sac. Now, the question is, what will it take to pry Rubio's rights from Minn?

Warhawk, your comment about drafting low asst pgs into a system is irrelevant. If Rubio was drafted, the offense would clearly run through him because that would be to the strength of the team. IF we try Evans at the 1 (I believe him to be a combo at best), then of course we would have to mitigate his lack of pure pg talent with other ballhandling factors. The question is... do we have other ballhandlers? Who else will handle pg duties? Can we be successful with Garcia splitting initial offense?

Right now, our personnel has shown a glaring lack of passing. I am adamant in the fact that we have not assuaged that weakness to the point of building a contender.

 

[shevkboy]

I am very unhappy about the draft for not picking Rubio.
Now I can only hope I was 100% wrong.

 

[exGrizzly]

I think Genius Petrie had his Mensa cap pulled too tight. He based Evans 20+ games at the point in college and superior workout over Rubio's 3+ years in pro-ball, Olympics experience and lifetime playing the point.

If Evans develops into a starting point guard in the NBA then I'll feel OK, probably pretty good, with this pick, but right now I still feel ill.

 

[Warhawk]

Warhawk, your comment about drafting low asst pgs into a system is irrelevant. If Rubio was drafted, the offense would clearly run through him because that would be to the strength of the team. IF we try Evans at the 1 (I believe him to be a combo at best), then of course we would have to mitigate his lack of pure pg talent with other ballhandling factors. The question is... do we have other ballhandlers? Who else will handle pg duties? Can we be successful with Garcia splitting initial offense?

Right now, our personnel has shown a glaring lack of passing. I am adamant in the fact that we have not assuaged that weakness to the point of building a contender.

What I am saying is that not having Rubio's higher assist numbers (extrapolating from last year's numbers) does not necessarily doom the Kings (if Evans is playing the 1). Mike had seasons of over 8 APG. He can pass. During our run he had 5 APG. Depending on the system we use (and again, with Coachie on the bench, passing bigs are important to him) we don't necessarily NEED a lot of assists from the point. What we have needed there is toughness and defense, which we now have. Evans can pass the ball, so let's see how he does once the team is assembled and his role is defined.

What do you say we all step back, take a breath, and see what emerges after more signings, trades, etc.

I think everyone is jumping the gun on criticism when the final team hasn't been assembled yet and no practices have been held.

 

[Entity]

I think Genius Petrie had his Mensa cap pulled too tight. He based Evans 20+ games at the point in college and superior workout over Rubio's 3+ years in pro-ball, Olympics experience and lifetime playing the point.

If Evans develops into a starting point guard in the NBA then I'll feel OK, probably pretty good, with this pick, but right now I still feel ill.

I know you said that to be negative toward Evans but when I read it I see nothing but positives. Geoff Petrie + staff of NBA vets, coaches, all liked Evans and he only played 20 games at pg and they think he will be better than a guy with 3+ years experience.

Makes me think the potential is endless. Just imagine how much better he would be if he had 3+ years experience. thanks for the insight.

 

[OnYouLikeGlue]

The Kings made the safe pick for now, rather than the risky pick that may have paid off later...

I dunno, I trust GP but sometimes you have to go outside of what seems to be safe at the moment. Musselman was a safe pick for coach based on the evidence. I know that GP can do risky stuff, like bringing in Artest. That move paid off for the most part. Hopefully this won't end up being another Darko vs. Melo/Bosh/Wade...

The safe pick? I think the safe pick would've been to take the guy 90% of the fan base had a giant crush on. Plus tons of NBA writers have been giving the Kings horrible grades for passing on Rubio. So I think taking Evans was far from taking the easy route.

I for one think Evans has the ability to be great and is very capable of playing PG. Combination of size, strength, toughness, and ability to penetrate could make him an elite point guard.

 

[Wuster]

What I am saying is that not having Rubio's higher assist numbers (extrapolating from last year's numbers) does not necessarily doom the Kings (if Evans is playing the 1). Mike had seasons of over 8 APG. He can pass. During our run he had 5 APG. Depending on the system we use (and again, with Coachie on the bench, passing bigs are important to him) we don't necessarily NEED a lot of assists from the point. What we have needed there is toughness and defense, which we now have. Evans can pass the ball, so let's see how he does once the team is assembled and his role is defined.

What do you say we all step back, take a breath, and see what emerges after more signings, trades, etc.

I think everyone is jumping the gun on criticism when the final team hasn't been assembled yet and no practices have been held.

Piecing together the coaching situation, especially the fact that Petrie and/or Westphal decided to keep Coachie on the bench is very telling. The system they go with will play to the strength of their players. I think they selected Evans because they believed him to be bpa, and also the best fit with that system. I've taken the step back, deep breath.

This TDOS has been rather intriguing so far.

 

[exGrizzly]

I know you said that to be negative toward Evans but when I read it I see nothing but positives. Geoff Petrie + staff of NBA vets, coaches, all liked Evans and he only played 20 games at pg and they think he will be better than a guy with 3+ years experience.

Makes me think the potential is endless. Just imagine how much better he would be if he had 3+ years experience. thanks for the insight.

Yeah, I think the NBA is the perfect place to learn how to play a new position, like there isn't anything else that the rookie will need to adjust to. And the best PGs are the ones who were moved there because they had trouble playing off-the-ball.

 

[vikinginferno]

I don't think Evans is going to be as inept at passing as some of you say. He definitely seems coachable and doesn't seem like he is "selfish", but that he wanted to make plays as a point guard in college. I think he will become at least a decent passer in the NBA.

 

[Bricklayer]

And the best PGs are the ones who were moved there because they had trouble playing off-the-ball.

Er...what?