It was unclear if the Minnesota Timberwolves would be able to find a high-impact player in the draft after trading out of the first-round as part of the Julius Randle salary-dump. Luckily, the board fell in their favor as Isaiah Evans dropped out of the first-round, eventually paving the way for Minnesota to draft him at pick 33.
Evans was one of my absolute favorite prospects for the Wolves at pick 28, so getting him five spots later is fantastic value. Without a doubt, the main reason why I was always so fond of Evans' fit with the Timberwolves was his elite 3-point shooting, which is a pressing need following Donte DiVincenzo's Achilles injury.
The Wolves have some clear flaws, including shot creation, 3-point shooting and playmaking. Solving all of these needs in the draft was unrealistic. To me, though, it seemed like a fair proposition that they could address the void left behind by DiVincenzo in the draft -- and they did just that with Evans.
Evans can help make life without DiVincenzo easier for the Timberwolves
At first glance, Evans shot a solid albeit not great 36.1 percent from deep range this past season at Duke. Regardless, he shot 7.4 3s per game and ranked in the 98th percentile for 3s per 100 possessions according to Draftballr. Make no mistake, Evans is an elite 3-point shooter -- easily one of the best in the class.
He is comfortable spotting up, coming off screens and has some self-creation juice. Evans' ability to move off the ball as a cutter also really stands out. Defensively, he's super feisty, especially as a defensive playmaker off the ball.
These traits add to his overall connectivity. As the Wolves prepare for life without DiVincenzo (for at least some of next year), finding someone with connectivity is equally important as addressing the raw shooting void.
While Chris Finch is typically hesitant to play rookies, he might have no choice but to play Evans. The Wolves need his extra 3-point shooting and they don't have a ton of depth. Unless they make some other moves in free agency, Evans should have a path to real minutes.
Likewise, Evans' 3-point shooting makes him an NBA-ready player. Undoubtedly, drafting project players has contributed to Finch's reluctance to play rookies. Furthermore, a theme with the Wolves' offseason appears to be empowering young players -- why not extend that to the rookie?
Overall, Evans is a phenomenal value pick and a big part of the brilliance of this pick is that he can help the Wolves make up for the loss of DiVincenzo.
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