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With the injury to Kevin Durant and DeMarcus Cousins, Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr has dug deep into his roster to help cope with the loss of his two All-Star caliber players.
Nearly every Warrior has seen the floor, and in some way, has contrbuted to the Warriors success so far since Durant fell down with the calf strain. Everyone has gotten their opportunity, except one: Warriors rookie Jacob Evans.
Kerr elected to keep Evans on the bench despite already cruising to a Game 1 win. However, this doesn't mean they have given up on the 21 year old rookie out of Cincinatti. In an report by Ethan Strauss of The Athletic, Kerr shared about their plans for their late 2018 first round pick moving forward:
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“Yeah, we’re going to play him at point all summer,” Kerr said at Warriors practice Wednesday.
“Why would we give up on him?” Kerr said of Evans. “He’s been in the league for eight months. The whole point with a guy like Jacob is it takes time. He was the 28th pick. Then he comes to a championship team. It’s tough”
“Almost nobody is ready to play right away. You gotta be really damned good to play right away and the reason you’re playing is often that it’s such a bad team. So Jacob has had a chance to learn. I think he’s got a chance to be a very good defensive player. He’s got the body and the speed to match up in any situation. He wasn’t ready for the Houston series but, athletically, I could have put him in the Houston series and he would hold up.”
Sure, Evans hasn't gotten any significant opportunities this season, but this doesn't mean he is no longer in the Warriors' plans in the future.
Evans, a 6-foo-6 guard, is being groomed to replace Shaun Livingston's role with the team, should the 33-year old lanky guard decide to call it a career at the end of the season.
