There was a ton of excitement when the Minnesota Timberwolves drafted Isaiah Evans with the 33rd pick back in June. It's understandable why—he was a consensus first-round pick with elite 3-point shooting chops. Unfortunately, the summer league and preseason weren't kind to Evans. Notably, he shot 20.5 percent from beyond the arc in the summer league, and 30.8 percent in his first four preseason games.
Thankfully, in the Wolves' final preseason game against the Chicago Bulls, Evans regained his shooting stroke. The rookie poured in 21 points and netted five of his 10 3-point attempts in a night where Minnesota rested its starters. This game is a great reminder of Evans' skill set and why the Timberwolves drafted him.
While Evans won't crack the rotation as a rookie on a Wolves team with plenty of guards and wings, his shooting gives him a path to being a long-term contributor.
Isaiah Evans has the makings of an eventual NBA contributor
Most of Evans' 3-pointers on Friday were off the catch—that's where he thrives. On Friday night, he was shooting with a ton of confidence, even pulling one from near the hash marks. His stroke was pure, and he looked like a quality NBA player. Whether it's purely spotting up or moving off screens, Evans can make it rain from deep range.
That's a valuable skill in the modern NBA, to say the least, and it's the number one reason Minnesota drafted him.
The Duke product was one of the best shooters in the class. His 36.1 3-point percentage doesn't tell the full story—he attempted 7.4 3s. According to Draftballr, Evans ranked in the 94th percentile for 3-point rate. Simply put, the guy can shoot.
Having dependable spot-up shooting on a team with Anthony Edwards and LaMelo Ball is ideal. Likewise, Ball can help create open shots for Evans.
Now, as evidenced by his preseason and summer league play, Evans isn't ready to be a knockdown shooting threat from day one at the NBA level. Still, if Evans can return to his college level of shooting, he could be a real weapon for the Wolves. And his last preseason game showed us what exactly this can look like.
Areas of growth for Evans
I fully expect Evans to spend a lot of time in the G League as a rookie. He needs the reps, and Minnesota simply doesn't have a rotation spot for him. Outside of rediscovering his shooting stroke, Evans will have to look for other ways to impact the game to fully maximize his upside as a complementary wing.
Adding some muscle and, in turn, becoming a better defender feels like a logical place to start. If Evans can do this, he could be a quintessential 3-and-D player, rather than just a spot-up shooter. The effort is already there—he just needs to get stronger. We saw Evans take a shot-creation leap during his sophomore season at Duke, and if he can work on his handle, he could be a pure microwave scorer.
Regardless, if Evans can simply offer consistent shooting as he did in college and in the final preseason game, then he'll earn a rotational role with the team at some point down the road. Considering that Evans was a second-round pick, that would be a massive win for the Timberwolves.
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