Evans's pet move, the spin, is a little out of control by nature, and it's hard to see open passing lanes when you're twirling around at high speed. Keith Smart, Evans's old coach, told me almost exactly a year ago that Evans still hadn't figured out how to "map the floor" — how to understand the location of his teammates, anticipate their movements, and play with a willingness to actually look for them.
But the film shows Evans improved in that regard last season. He has a better sense of where shooters are, and when they'll come open. He takes his time now on the pick-and-roll, pausing to read help schemes and draw traps before hitting his big man rolling to the rim. He developed nice chemistry with both Jason Thompson and Patrick Patterson last season, proving he can work well with big men capable of both slipping to the rim and popping for jumpers.6 That bodes well for his relationship with Davis and Anderson; Davis is a scary explosive cutter with a usable midranger, and Anderson is the league's best shooting power forward. Evans will feel unburdened working with these guys after watching DeMarcus Cousins just stand around, sulking, on too many Evans-Cousins pick-and-rolls.
