Forget Avery Bradley, the Suns should acquire Tyreke Evans

Why Tyreke Evans does work

While there are many reasons why the Suns should look to sign Tyreke Evans this summer, once again, I’ll just stick to the top-3:

1. He can take offensive pressure off of Devin Booker – Although over the course of his career his scoring hasn’t been quite as good as his rookie year (he averaged 20.1 points in 2009-10), he is averaging 19.5 points this season in Memphis that includes 20 games off the bench. Tyreke Evans can score the ball.  More importantly, he can shoot 3’s well. Don’t let his career 31.4% 3-point shooting percentage scare you. Over the past three seasons he has averaged 38.2%, including 39.2% this season. Much like T.J. Warren is now, Evans began his career as more of a mid-range shooter but has expanded his game to beyond the arc making him a threat to score from anywhere on the court. Add that offensive ability to a lineup that includes Booker and Warren already – not to mention the expectation that they will draft a player who can put the ball in the hoop with impunity as well – and the ability to double Booker at every turn will be alleviated as there will be far too many legitimate scorers on the roster to defend.
2. He can pass the ball – The biggest problem I have with Avery Bradley (aside from his size, of which Evans is listed at 6’6″ and 220lbs, 4″ and 40lbs bigger and heavier than Bradley) is that Bradley is not known as a passing guard, which all but guarantees that Booker will be forced to continue to play at the point, regardless of how well he actually does. Tyreke Evans, on the other hand has a 5.1 per game assist average (and 4.8 rebounds), which is twice what Bradley has averaged in his career. (Oh, and his career-high is 6.6 pr game. Eric Bledsoe’s? 6.3). Even if Book remained the starting point, Evans would provide much better depth to the backcourt allowing the two to share responsibilities – another way to take pressure off of Booker.
3. He is a comparable defender to Bradley – This reason must not necessarily be taken 100% on face value since defensive statistics are notoriously difficult to enumerate and the eye test should play a role in one’s opinion making. However: Tyreke Evans’ defensive stats are better than Avery Bradley’s almost across the board.  Per 100 possessions, Evans has a career Defensive Rating of 109. Avery Bradley’s? 107. (Evans’ career-high is 111 which he has hit twice, whereas Bradley’s is 110, although that is a current stat for this season and could shift in either direction). Bradley’s Defensive Win Share is 13.1 compared to Evans’ which is 11.5 with one fewer NBA season (although offensively, Evans’ Win Share is 16.8 compared to Bradley’s 1.1). In more traditional stats, Evans averages 1.3 steals per game compared to Bradley’s 1.1; Evans averages .4 blocks per game to Bradley’s .2; and Evans averages 3.9 defensive rebounds compared to Bradley’s 2.3.