And It Begins....Pelicans About to Talk to Tyreke Evans

[swisshh]

Yes, but I think every single member on this board thinks Cousins is a better player currently, will be a better player, and will end up in a different class than Evans. We aren't discussing that, though.

Right, but at 12 million per, we're discussing big time player money. I believe guys like Lawson, Jrue, and Curry are making less than that.

 

[Bricklayer]

And who did the Kings just get in the draft. I see the potential to tie up a ton of money in a player that doesn't fill the crippling needs this team has had for a number of years. This team as is can do with less players that want to create for themselves. That's kind of been the biggest issue with this team the last few years you know.

No. This team can without LESSER players who want to create for themselves, that's been the issue. No discipline, so every scrub on the team has thought they had a green light to freelance. But every good team needs 2 or 3 elite guys who can create their own shot. Tyreke is about as elite as they come at that. He's the guy you pay and let do his thing. The others are the guys you dispose of.

 

[Glenn]

Doc Evans aka International I aka Tyreke's older brother.

I have mentioned before that it bothers me that people who don't identify who they are talking about but frankly if people don't want me to read their notes, they can keep on leaving the identities of people a mystery.

 

[Double-K]

You just proved my point for me.

Johnson-Franchise guy in ATL when he signed the deal
Wade-Franchise guy in Miami
Manu- Part of the trio that's made SA the powerhouse they are today
Westbrook- Top 15 player, elite on both ends of the floor
Eric Gordon- Bad contract. Didn't deserve a max.
Kevin Martin- Franchise guy when he signed the deal with us. #1 option and best player with us and Houston for several years
Ben Gordon- Worst contract in basketball.
Rip Hamilton- $5mil/year. Not sure why you included him.
Batum- Support player. Still, incredible productive as he does everything and has a set position
Parker- Best player in the Spurs the last 5 years and an MVP candidate the last 2
Monta- Overpriced, but clearly the most important guard and scorer on that team


The point? If we're paying Reke $11mill/season then I expect elite production out of him.

Tyreke average 17 points, 4 rebound, 4 assist and 1 steal per game in his first four seasons. He's improved his handle a great deal over the last few years, he can drive-and-kick all day with a reliable shooter and/or Cuz. People criticize that he "needs the ball", and he has improved on that last season, knocking down 36.8% of his spot-ups, a raise from 33.8%.

11mil/year sounds about right to me.

 

[Rockmeister]

This thread tickles me pink. Especially the part where Tyreke is better than Iggy and he's a better PG than Vasquez.

If resign Tyreke, we're banking on him making huge strides as a PG and a player. He's not near a proven commodity, especially at the PG position. Question is, are we ready to bank $12mil on a PG experiment?

I'd be much more on board if the plan was to keep Reke at SG. He's made some nice strides in his off-ball game and adding that set 3 really helped his transition to that spot. We know he can at least produce at the 2. His limited time at PG last season was rather awful.

I am on the fence with Tyreke. He isn't a "true" PG. Also, when he drives to the basket, he misses more layups than he makes it. I've been to so many games watching him miss those layups so much, it was frustrating to watch. He slowed down the offense alot. Maybe with a new coach, things might change. I don't know.

Do I let him walk? No, because he IS a talented player. I'm just not so sure its at the PG position.

 

[Glenn]

Why? What have you seen from Reke's PG play that suggests he's worth $11mil at that position? Oh right, you can't! We haven't seen it in 2 years!

I'm not expecting franchise player production from McLemore as I would with Reke at $11mil. BTW, go find me a perimeter player making $11mil or more and isn't one of the top players on that team. If not the top player.

We haven't seen anything that would satisfy you, that's for sure. We also have not seen much of him under competent coaching. Most importantly we have not seen him in a back court with McLemore and as this team sucks no matter who is playing what position, I am all for experimentation. I do not want to stand for status quo.

 

[Glenn]

I am on the fence with Tyreke. He isn't a "true" PG. Also, when he drives to the basket, he misses more layups than he makes it. I've been to so many games watching him miss those layups so much, it was frustrating to watch. He slowed down the offense alot. Maybe with a new coach, things might change. I don't know.

Do I let him walk? No, because he IS a talented player. I'm just not so sure its at the PG position.

He misses more layups than he makes. Really. I mean, really?

 

[hrdboild]

Can we all at least agree on one thing? Swapping Tyreke for Eric Gordon's contract is a laughably bad idea and New Orleans is fooling themselves if they think that's even remotely plausible. Surely we can all agree on that right?

 

[Kingster]

They probably don't see him as a PG but thats for them to figure out. Our situation is whether our FO sees Tyreke as a PG amongst our crop of players.

It is. And what other teams' GMs think might give some insight into what our GM thinks.

 

[Gary]

They probably don't see him as a PG but thats for them to figure out. Our situation is whether our FO sees Tyreke as a PG amongst our crop of players.

I don't think any fan base or front office other than our own thinks Evans is a PG. I still don't think he's a PG, but I am willing to give it a try as long as we have a SF that can handle the ball a lot of the time.

 

[twslam07]

You are arguing with the wrong person. If you read my earlier posts, I'm a Tyreke fan and hope he is retained.

I'm simply stating what I think is the FO's sentiment. The FO is very high on Mac. He would really have to struggle in summer league and training camp for them to not start him. The FO have hinted that they are looking for a SF upgrade in free agency. That really just leaves PG for Tyreke.

I just can't see us paying $11 mil for a 6th man. We already have a $8 million a yr 6th man in Thornton (he is not traded at this point). The FO will only pay starter money for a starter. It is what it is.

I'm not arguing with the fact that you want to retain Evans. I'm arguing that you think our FO would only sign Evans if they think he is a PG. Let's say they think he is a SG and they let him walk. What you have just done is lost a potential star player for nothing. Your only other star player on the team is Cousins. With our youngsters and Cousins developing, it is unlikely we will be drafting early enough in the lottery to net us another star like talent. Sacramento has never been known to attract star level talent in free agency, so where are we going to get our second star to put next to Cousins? It could be McLemore. He does have potential to be a 2nd/3rd option star in this league, but that's a long way out. We can try trading our scraps (Thomas, Fredette, Thornton, Thompson, & Patterson) for one, but how often do teams give up star player talents for players like those?

The point I'm making is if our FO is smart, which I assume they are, they will match any offer for Evans. Let's assume he gets offered the max and the Kings match.

If they see Evans as being worth the max and they match it
They should start Evans at SG and ease McLemore into the NBA. Again, this kid is only 20 years old. He's most likely going to need time to adjust. If McLemore doesn't show well in his time off the bench, continue to start Evans at SG and keep babying McLemore so we don't jeopardize his development. If McLemore shows well off the bench, bring him into the starting lineup and push Evans to PG. If they work together, we have our backcourt of the future. If they don't work together or Evans is not capable of being a PG, you trade either Evans or McLemore. Evans is a star level talent and should be able to net you an equal talent in return. If McLemore is showing well like he is in this scenario, I'm sure his value will be very high as well. It might not be as valuable as Evans, but he should be able to net you an equal value player as well. The debate on which one we should trade if McLemore shows well and Evans doesn't workout at PG is an entirely separate conversation.

If they don't see Evans as being worth the max and they match it
In this case, you can look to trade him immediately and net an equal talent back. If there were teams that offered him the max, then I'm sure you'll find trading partners who won't see his max contract as a negative.

Either way you are going to have talent on your team. If you let him walk for nothing, you're making a big mistake.

 

[Kingster]

I have mentioned before that it bothers me that people who don't identify who they are talking about but frankly if people don't want me to read their notes, they can keep on leaving the identities of people a mystery.

What's the deal with the brothers anyway? Are they leaching themselves onto the Tyreke train?

 

[Bricklayer]

I am on the fence with Tyreke. He isn't a "true" PG. Also, when he drives to the basket, he misses more layups than he makes it. I've been to so many games watching him miss those layups so much, it was frustrating to watch. He slowed down the offense alot. Maybe with a new coach, things might change. I don't know.

Do I let him walk? No, because he IS a talented player. I'm just not so sure its at the PG position.

Tyreke is actually annually right at the top of the league in both takes and makes at the rim. He hits a higher percentage of them (63.2%) than Russel Westbrook (61.6), James Harden (63.0), Ellis (61.7). Lawson (62.6) (as well as Melo, Monroe, Pekovic, Love, Varejao, Asik, Randolph, Noah etc.). The only two guards remotely in his weight class as a to the hoop guy with higher percentages are Wade and Parker.

 

[andjel]

You just proved my point for me.

Johnson-Franchise guy in ATL when he signed the deal
Wade-Franchise guy in Miami
Manu- Part of the trio that's made SA the powerhouse they are today
Westbrook- Top 15 player, elite on both ends of the floor
Eric Gordon- Bad contract. Didn't deserve a max.
Kevin Martin- Franchise guy when he signed the deal with us. #1 option and best player with us and Houston for several years
Ben Gordon- Worst contract in basketball.
Rip Hamilton- $5mil/year. Not sure why you included him.
Batum- Support player. Still, incredible productive as he does everything and has a set position
Parker- Best player in the Spurs the last 5 years and an MVP candidate the last 2
Monta- Overpriced, but clearly the most important guard and scorer on that team


The point? If we're paying Reke $11mill/season then I expect elite production out of him.

I am missing your point then.
If Kings think that Reke is their franchise guy, they will and should pay the money.
At the moment, nobody on the roster is even close to that, and, I will repeat again, what other franchise/potential franchise guy you think Kings can get for less than 12 mil?
That is not tied to whether he is a pure PG, SG, SF or whatever unnecessary labeling is used on him. I think you are overvaluing defined position a bit.

edit: actually, reread your post, we seems to agree on the point but disagree regarding Reke's level

 

[Kingster]

I don't think any fan base or front office other than our own thinks Evans is a PG. I still don't think he's a PG, but I am willing to give it a try as long as we have a SF that can handle the ball a lot of the time.

Great minds....I was thinking the same thing today. If we had a very good 3 who could distribute it would make a lot more sense to couple Tyreke, McLemore and Mr. X. That could be a big if though.

 

[Section 101]

Great minds....I was thinking the same thing today. If we had a very good 3 who could distribute it would make a lot more sense to couple Tyreke, McLemore and Mr. X. That could be a big if though.

We're getting LeBron?

Kinda funny that Salmons is actually one of the better SF at distributing.

 

[SacTownKid]

Guards that are not No1 on their teams and are payed ~11mil and up
Joe Johnson, Dwayne Wade, Andre Iguadala, Manu Ginobili, Eric Gordon, Russell Westerbrook, Kevin Martin, Ben Gordon, Richard Hamilton, Nicolas Batum, Tony Parker, Monta Ellis, Jose Calderon

That is 13 players on 11 different teams out of total of 30 teams. Other words, every 3rd team has guard that is payed 11 mil or more and is not #1 on their team.

And the majority of players on that list are reasons why not to overpay for Tyreke Evans.

 

[SacTownKid]

Tyreke is actually annually right at the top of the league in both takes and makes at the rim. He hits a higher percentage of them (63.2%) than Russel Westbrook (61.6), James Harden (63.0), Ellis (61.7). Lawson (62.6) (as well as Melo, Monroe, Pekovic, Love, Varejao, Asik, Randolph, Noah etc.). The only two guards remotely in his weight class as a to the hoop guy with higher percentages are Wade and Parker.

And the recurring theme amongst all those players is that they don't have a big taking up space in the middle on offense.

 

[Gary]

We're getting LeBron?

Kinda funny that Salmons is actually one of the better SF at distributing.

Professor Xavier. And Salmons might be a decent distributor but he screws us up all over the place when he plays SF.

 

[Section 101]

Professor Xavier. And Salmons might be a decent distributor but he screws us up all over the place when he plays SF.

So who is this mythical SF people are referring to that can be had Evan Turner or Jared Dudley?

 

[Gary]

Not sure who you mean? I only said that the only way I would want Evans at PG is if he had another ball handler at SF, which would be Iggy. Whether we could afford them both I have no idea.

 

[VF21]

New thread for latest news, tweets, etc. about Evans' meeting with the Kings here