2018 NBA Mock Draft: The summer is decision time
Cincinnati. Jacob Evans. 22. player. 100. . G
Who do you pair with Victor Oladipo? The shoo-in most improved player in the NBA, the latest promised son of Indiana basketball, the two-way dynamo, is a hard player to find a partner for. As someone who covers the Phoenix Suns, I can’t help but be reminded of Devin Booker when thinking about Oladipo.
Oladipo is a better player than Booker is, and he already represents the difference people talk about when discussing Booker among the league’s best scoring guards. The question, which typically revolves around why Booker and unproven players like him are unable to guide their teams at least to winning records, need not be asked about Oladipo any longer. Given the keys to the Pacers’ kingdom, the fifth-year guard has answered the call for value over productivity — loudly.
That brings us to Evans, someone I think will be a perfect complementary guard in the NBA. His skills — shooting, decision-making and defense — typically translate for young guards more quickly than explosiveness or play-making. It takes time to learn the beats of the NBA game (unless your name is Ben Simmons), whereas a player like Evans, especially if paired with Oladipo, would excel in a simplified role.
The most interesting thing to watch in Evans’ development is his jump shot. If he can be as productive a shooter in the NBA as he was at Cincinnati, Evans avoids the dreaded Patrick Beverley comparisons and turns into a wholly more impactful two-way player.