The first tier of NBA free agency has come and gone, with Paul George staying in Oklahoma City with the Thunder and LeBron James leaving the Cleveland Cavaliers for the Los Angeles Lakers. Other top free agents have signed as well, although DeMarcus Cousins is still on the market, along with quite a few other key role players that are waiting for contracts.
Tyreke Evans is one of the top free agents left on the market and things are beginning to heat up for him. Golden State has been one team extremely interested in signing him this offseason, but there are two other teams who have registered serious interest in signing him in the last 24 hours.
According to a report from Chris Haynes of ESPN , the Los Angeles Lakers and Oklahoma City Thunder are both pursuing Evans. Evans met with the Thunder last night and is set to meet with the Lakers today.
Magic Johnson is trying to bring in as many veteran pieces around James as he can. He signed Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Lance Stephenson, and JaVale McGee last night after the James report broke. Evans would be a huge pickup for the Lakers and would provide the kind of bench depth that the Lakers need behind James to take more pressure off of his shoulders.
Oklahoma City is also an intriguing potential destination for Evans. They were able to re-sign George, but Carmelo Anthony did opt into his massive contract. Evans would immediately provide better depth than the Thunder had last season, but there is a chance that he could be a bit more expensive than Oklahoma City wants to spend.
Warriors keeping an eye on Tyreke Evans, Warriors GM Bob Myers is his former agent, per @sam_amick https://t.co/MrrbqdQHDd pic.twitter.com/u4p1u0NIA8
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) July 1, 2018
Last season with the Memphis Grizzlies, Evans put together a career season. He averaged 19.4 points per game to go along with 5.2 assists and 5.1 rebounds.
At 28-years-old, Evans is in the prime of his career and would likely enjoy competing for a ring. He could do just that with the Lakers. Oklahoma City couldn’t offer that guarantee, but they have a great duo in Russell Westbrook and George.
Other teams that have been connected to Evans are the New Orleans Pelicans and Indiana Pacers. Neither team has had much traction with Evans this offseason, but they are still potential destinations to keep an eye on.
All of that being said, expect to see Evans sign at some point in the near future. Where he ends up is unknown, but it appears that teams are beginning to zone in on him.
