When the Minnesota Timberwolves drafted Isaiah Evans, I was thrilled. He was one of my favorite Wolves' targets leading up to the draft, and getting him at pick 33 was tremendous value. Furthermore, at the time, extra spot-up shooting was a clear need.
However, less than 24 hours after drafting Evans, the Wolves traded for LaMelo Ball (and Josh Green) in a franchise-altering move. Evans' shooting inherently became less valuable to the Wolves after they traded for Ball.
To be clear, I'm still high on Evans as a long-term player for the team. Unfortunately, the reality is that there are very few minutes available for him as a rookie, and he's unlikely to be part of the team's rotation.
Putting his up-and-down summer league aside, I find it far-fetched that Evans will carve out a role on a suddenly deep Wolves team.
Finding minutes for Isaiah Evans is a difficult task
Anthony Edwards, LaMelo Ball, Ayo Dosunmu, Bones Hyland and Terrence Shannon Jr. are all undeniably above Evans in the Wolves' guard/wing rotation. As is, that's a lot for Evans, but even Jaylen Clark and Josh Green could be above him in the rotation.
Clark is a tenacious defender, and Green is a classic low-usage, 3-and-D role player. Chris Finch has an affinity for proven players. Thus, it's hard to see him giving Evans minutes over one of these two players, let alone the other five.
Say what you will about Finch, but Clark and Green are more likely to contribute to winning basketball. At the very least, the five aforementioned players certainly are.
And none of this accounts for the possible mid-season return of Donte DiVincenzo. With all due respect, if you think that Evans can earn regular minutes, riddle me this: Who will he realistically play over?
Look, I'm sure Evans will get some situational minutes in the event of injuries. But the idea of him being anywhere close to a nightly part of the Wolves' rotation is wishful thinking.
Evans still has a bright future
Again, Evans could easily become a contributor for the Timberwolves down the road, perhaps even as soon as his second year. Don't let his 13.3 3-point percentage in summer league fool you -- Evans is an elite movement shooter. Last season at Duke, he netted 36.8 percent of his 7.4 triples.
The bright side of his disappointing summer league is that he's been really pesky as an on-ball defender, which will need to continue given his thin frame. Evans was also super disruptive off the ball in college. As such, there's a path for him to eventually carve out a role as a 3-and-D guard.
Still, this will have to wait for him to further develop and for the Wolves to make roster changes that free up minutes for him. At the end of the day, the No. 33 pick getting minutes on a competitive team is unlikely, and the Timberwolves' perimeter talent makes this even less possible.
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