The Golden State Warriors reportedly had a meeting with Tyreke Evans yesterday, but they’ve officially missed out on him.
Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN is reporting that Evans agreed to a 1-year deal worth $12 million with the Indiana Pacers.
Given that the Warriors had already given their mid-level exception to DeMarcus Cousins, all they could offer Evans at this point was a minimum contract.
It was going to be an uphill battle to get Evans to sacrifice money on the mid-level exception, let alone a minimum contract.
The Cousins signing probably eliminated the Warriors from the Evans sweepstake, although it was conceivably still possible Evans would want to join the Warriors just for the chance at a ring.
There were some hints yesterday that Evans probably wasn’t going to opt to join the Warriors as a reserve wanting a ring.
His brother had said in a radio interview earlier yesterday that Evans would rather average 19-20 points and lose than 10-11 points and win. While that sounds weirdly selfish on the surface, it makes sense for a player like Evans at this stage of his career.
His brother went on to explain that it’s about Evans’ earning potential going forward, as Evans being a bench player hurts his market value next time he tests free agency.
A ring is a great accomplishment, but it wasn’t going to put any extra money in Evans’ pocket the next time he hits free agency.
Evans is only going to be 29 this season, and it’s certainly fair that he wants more big paydays before his career begins to wind down.
He’s not a veteran in his mid-30s who has already hit his peak earning potential and wants a ring to cap off his career.
While the Warriors certainly would have liked Evans to join on the minimum, this deal with the Pacers proves that even adding Evans on the mid-level exception would have been difficult.