National Basketball Association

Jeremy Evans Continues to Come Out on Top in His Fight to Stay in the NBA

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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What do the Indiana Pacers have in their newly arrived athletic forward Jeremy Evans?

In a summer filled with dramatic roster moves for the Indiana Pacers, the acquisition of Jeremy Evans has gone unnoticed. He was acquired in a deal with the Dallas Mavericks that was essentially a salary dump by the Mark Cuban-owned team from Texas. Despite limited playing-time (with a career average of 10.5 minutes per game), and being a second-round pick, Evans has found a way to stick around in the NBA.

Staying relevant as a second-round pick is not easy. Drafted with the 55th pick in the 2010 NBA Draft by the Utah Jazz, Jeremy Evans entered the league as a guy known for his dunking ability. He lived up to that reputation, pulling off some uber-athletic plays and winning the 2012 Slam Dunk Contest.

Dallas was his next stop when his time in Utah came to an end.

Once again, Evans didn’t see much playing time. He averaged just 8.4 minutes per game with the Mavericks, making it five out of his six years in the league in which he’s averaged below 10 minutes per game. One of his shining moments in Dallas was playing for their D-League affiliate, the Texas Legends.

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He only played in four games, but he showed off something he never had during his previous five years in the NBA: a three-point shot. Evans knocked down 7-of-18 (38.9%) 3-pointers for the Legends, and 4-of-16 (25.0%) with the Mavericks.

Another thing Evans added to his game: more versatility.

He played a career-high 52% of his minutes at the SF position last season. Back in the day, being labeled as a “tweener” was a bad thing. Now, some players take it as a compliment. Being a tweener is technically a skill in today’s NBA. Being able to play both forward spots is important.

While Evans was working on improving other aspects of his game, Larry Bird took notice of the few that got him into this league: pace and athleticism.

“Jeremy is big and athletic,” said Bird upon trading for Evans. “We’re anxious to get him here and put him through our strength and conditioning program. We know he’ll be a good fit with the players we have.”

Whenever I think of the 16 guaranteed contracts the Pacers currently have on the books, I think of this quote. The Pacers will need to make a move, as you can only have 15 players on a roster. Evans’ name has floated around as someone the team might waive.

We don’t know what Larry is going to do. Whether he cuts someone or makes a trade to create room, we do know one thing: Jeremy Evans will continue to fight to stay in the NBA.

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