New Orleans Pelicans guard Tyreke Evans undergoes knee surgery

Apr 14, 2014; New Orleans, LA, USA; New Orleans Pelicans forward Tyreke Evans (1) reacts after making a basket against the Oklahoma City Thunder during the fourth quarter of the a game at Smoothie King Center. The Pelicans defeated the Thunder 101-89. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports /

It wasn’t exactly a “banner year” for the New Orleans Pelicans, as they won just 34 games despite having aspirations for the postseason. One of more the more maligned players on the roster, swingman Tyreke Evans, has been through the rumor mill many times in recent months, but on Thursday, he broke the news (via instagram) that he had undergone knee surgery.

Of course, this sent any rational Pelicans fan into a tizzy, but on the bright side, the newly announced injury won’t keep Evans off the floor for long. Here are the details from an official press release via the Pelicans:

"NEW ORLEANS – New Orleans Pelicans guard Tyreke Evans underwent minor arthroscopic surgery yesterday to clean out scar tissue in his right knee, the team announced. Evans will begin rehab on his right knee immediately. His expected timetable for recovery is 6-8 weeks."

Whether or not Evans is on the trade market (there are conflicting reports), this certainly won’t help Pelicans management if the goal is to trade him, especially with more than $30 million on the books over the next three seasons. Evans was decent this year, posting averages of 14.5 points, 5.0 assists and 4.7 rebounds per game, but his jump shot simply hasn’t improved, and he has wildly overpaid at this stage of his career.

New Orleans does have Anthony Davis to build around, which is obviously a good thing, but they need more from Evans, and this is another issue to worry about.

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