Frankly, it's hard for me to envision Minnesota Timberwolves rookie Isaiah Evans earning regular rotation minutes this season. Beyond the idea that Chris Finch doesn't like playing rookies, the Wolves' rotation is simply too loaded with established players, especially guys with a similar role to Evans.
Between Ayo Dosunmu, Terrence Shannon Jr., Jaylen Clark, and Bones Hyland, I don't see who he'd get minutes over off the bench. If and when Donte DiVincenzo returns, that will be doubly true. Plus, Cody Williams isn't proven, but he's someone I'd expect to be ahead of Evans in the pecking order.
Nevertheless, Evans still has all the makings of a quality long-term contributor for the Timberwolves. It just might take some time for this vision to come to fruition.
The Wolves drafted Evans with the 33rd pick. Since Evans was widely considered to be a first-round prospect, this pick was tremendous value. Even if he doesn't play much as a rookie, Evans will eventually prove to be a steal if he develops into a quality role player.
Why Isaiah Evans projects to be a quality future contributor
Evans' main selling point is his 3-point shooting. That's a skill that will always be valuable alongside Anthony Edwards and LaMelo Ball. In the second apron, the Wolves won't always have this same level of backcourt/wing depth, and this will eventually carve out a role for Evans. Moreover, Evans simply needs time to develop into a legitimate rotation piece on a competitive team.
Evans' shooting (poor summer league numbers aside) should give him a bankable NBA skill. During his two seasons at Duke, he netted 38 percent of his 3-pointers on 5.8 attempts. He thrives simply both spotting up and moving off the ball. This skill set alone gives him a path to regular NBA minutes within the next few years. And in limited opportunities as a rookie, Evans' shooting could prove to be highly valuable.
Still, he needs to find other ways to impact the game to become a high-end role player. While Evans made significant strides as a self-creator during his sophomore season, his playmaking and general decision-making need to improve. Per Draftballr, Evans ranked in the 34th percentile for assist-to-turnover ratio. Simply put, that's not good enough to justify him getting on-ball duties.
Defensively, Evans has displayed high effort and quality defensive playmaking chops, averaging 1.4 stocks at Duke. However, he needs to add muscle to improve as an on-ball stopper.
Thankfully, it's reasonable to expect some natural progression in both the creation and defense departments. Evans has a strong chance to become a classic 3-and-D wing or a high-level microwave scorer. Perhaps even a combination of both. And while Evans ideally expands his game, having a quality movement shooter isn't the worst thing in the world.
When the opportunity arises and Minnesota's rotation gets less competitive, Evans will be ready to contribute. If the Timberwolves find a long-term rotation piece with a second-round pick, that will be great value. Overall, while I don't trust Evans to play much from the jump; I do trust that he'll be a quality contributor for years to come.
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