Evans hopes to make most of increased playing time
Last year’s first-round selection had disappointing rookie season
In the manner that the Warriors want him to lead, Jacob Evans spoke in a commanding voice about his rookie season.
“Last year was disappointing for me,” he said. “But I don’t really care how anyone else looks at it. Knowing what I can do on the basketball court, I wasn’t able to do that at the level I know I could.”
In the manner that the Warriors want him to play, Evans was aggressive on the topic of being considered a bust as the No. 28 pick in the 2018 draft.
“A lot of people count you out, like the writers. Y’all are going to talk your stuff and get your sto- ries, but I just stay with it,” he said. “I’m not an underdog. But a lot of people have doubts and questions about me. I just keep that in mind.”
With Kevin Durant’s departure and Klay Thompson’s injury, the Warriors are hoping for more from Evans, much more than they got last season.
Evans played in just 30 games for the Warriors, averaging 6.8 minutes and shooting 34 percent. He wasn’t exactly a world-beater at Santa Cruz either, averaging 11.2 points in 21 G-League games. His stats from the recently concluded Summer League — 14.2 points on 45.6 percent shooting,
five rebounds and four assists — are reason for hope.
“There will be more opportunity this year. He’ll have to take advantage of that,” Santa Cruz Warriors general manager Kent Lacob said. “But just because there is opportunity, there are always going to be other guys trying to earn those minutes. Nothing is gifted at this level. I think the opportunity to earn minutes is there. We have a clear vision as well of what we’d like him to be and how we would like to see him grow.”
The Warriors thought they had a clear vision when they drafted Evans after three strong seasons at the University of Cincinnati.
They liked his perimeter defense. They saw potential in his outside shot; he’d made 37.7 percent of his 3-point tries in college. They were intrigued with his ability to play point guard, shooting guard or small forward. The believed they had a player that coach Steve Kerr could depend on while reducing the workload for his veterans.
“I don’t think Steve is going to have any problem putting him out there,” Warriors general Bob Myers said after drafting Evans.
Instead, Kerr played Evans only in mop-up duty. Even with the Warriors needing outside shooting to complement Stephen Curry and Thompson. Even with the Warriors needing wing depth to reduce the burden on Durant and Andre Iguodala. Even with the Warriors needing defense to help out Draymond Green and Iguodala.
Kerr often chalked up Evans’ limited playing time to being a rookie on a championship team. Is that all there was to it?
“I don’t know. We didn’t really talk about it,” Evans said. “We just talked about playing my game and getting ready for next year. Last year doesn’t matter any more. I got an opportunity in front of me and I’m trying to seize it. If I didn’t play, I never asked him why I wasn’t playing.”
Evans did what he could control. He listened to Curry’s input about always being on time for team meetings. Evans followed Iguodala’s suggestions on how to get open. He studied how the team’s star players mastered the “small details” in their day-to-day routine. He worked on adding bulk to his 6-foot-6, 210-pound frame. Warriors assistant coach Willie Green, who has since left to take a bigger role on Monty Williams’ staff in Phoenix, tutored Evans on shot mechanics, ball handling and driving to the hoop. Miles did the same whenever Evans was in Santa Cruz.
“Jacob is quiet, but he’s observant and watches,” Miles said.
The Warriors addressed some of their backcourt issues with the acquisition of D’Angelo Russell. But with Durant gone for good, and Thompson gone for at least a good chunk of next season, there is plenty of slack to be picked up.
“With those guys being out, I have a chance to play a good amount of minutes. It’s on the table for me if I want to take it. It’s all up to me and the work I put in with this summer grind. Basketball is all about what you put in is what you’re going to put out. However my next season goes, that’s what I’ll put into this offseason. I’ll just keep working. There’s really no adjustment. It’s just basketball. I’m not saying I’m going to come in and be Klay Thompson and Kevin Durant. But I can come in and be Jacob Evans.”
What exactly will being Jacob Evans entail? The Warriors hope that involves handling point-guard duties, making outside shoots and defending perimeter players.
Evans, who spent last season as a wing, considers point guard his “natural position.” But if he wants to play consistently, he must improve his shooting. Especially on a team that wants more shooting power beyond Curry and Thompson. Especially in today’s NBA where outside shooting is increasingly vital to a team’s success.
After being drafted, Evans dismissed questions about the awkward hitch in his shot. He said he shot that way in college and it worked well enough to make him a first-round pick. It wasn’t working very well from 23 feet and nine inches, the 3-point arc in the NBA, which is four feet longer than in college.
Evans made adjustments, putting more air under his shot and fine-tuning other mechanics in his workouts with Green.
“Catching the ball clean, then going straight to the shot. Not catching it, and moving it and then going to the shot,” Evans said. “It’s starting to feel and look a lot better I see a huge difference. At first, it felt like I couldn’t get it there. Now it feels natural again.”
All that said, the Warriors care more about what Evans can do on the defensive end. They want to see to what extent he can mirror the roles that Iguodala and Shaun Livingston once fulfilled.
“Obviously he’s not Andre or Shaun. But he has that type of potential, I believe, in his mindset,” Miles said.
“If I can be a lock-down defensive guy,” Evans said. “I’ll be really happy with that. Everything else is going to fall into place. But if I can be one of those top defensive guys….”
The Warriors, too, are waiting to see how that thought ends.