Isaiah Evans has played in two summer league games so far, and at least offensively, it has not been pretty to say the least. In his first game, he shot 2-for-15 from the field and 0-for-9 from 3-point range, and in his second game, he shot 0-for-8 from the field and 0-for-6 from 3-point range. While these numbers are impressively bad, and a lot of fans are panicking, I, for one, still hold a lot of stock in him.
While the shooting hasn't been as advertised thus far, I feel like shooting the ball should be the least of the fans' concerns. We saw him be a lights-out shooter both years at Duke. Everyone goes through shooting slumps. What impresses me, however, is the defense and the intangibles.
The poor shooting shouldn't be a cause for major concern
When you draft a shooter and he's seemingly unable to make shots, it's easy to lose hope. But even specialists in the NBA go through periods where they can't seem to buy one. The shooting will come, but the other parts of his game should give Wolves fans a lot to be excited about.
So far, he's proving that he will be a tenacious defender at the NBA level. Sure, he may be thin-framed, but he's been picking up 94 feet, navigating screens well, and showing the competitiveness on defense that we saw at Duke.
We all know how hard it is to crack Chris Finch's rotation as a rookie. While I would consider Evans being a consistent rotational player next year unlikely, I think the chance is higher than a lot of people think. It starts with the defensive intensity he's been showing.
Isaiah Evans could fill the Donte DiVincenzo void off the bench
It can't be overstated how important Donte DiVincenzo was to the team's success last year. Not only was he a flamethrower from three, but he was the guy in the starting lineup diving for loose balls and making all of the dirty work plays.
I'm not saying a rookie Evans will be close to what DiVincenzo was last year, but with DiVincenzo down until likely March at minimum, the Wolves will need guys in the rotation who are willing to make those hustle plays, and Evans is striking me as that guy.
Rookies never have a long leash with Finch, but if Evans is giving it 100 percent on defense when he's on the floor while simultaneously being an effective spacer, his being a rotational piece shouldn't be counted out. Let's stop overreacting to summer league, folks.
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