Isaiah Evans didn’t stay in the first round for long, and Minnesota clearly didn’t care.
The Timberwolves wound up getting Evans in a deal with the Brooklyn Nets, who took him with the No. 33 overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft. He had shown flashes at Duke, but his game was still raw enough to push him into day two. Minnesota still moved in, and that says plenty about how it views the fit.
For a team that has won at least one playoff series in each of its last three trips to the postseason and has reached the playoffs in each of the last five years, Evans doesn’t have to be the headline act. He just has to grow into the kind of wing who can help. That’s the lane Minnesota is giving him under Chris Finch, and it’s the kind of role he should be able to carve out.
An ACC coach told ESPN’s Jeff Borzello that Evans is built for this stage.
"He's big, athletic, can shoot, can guard," an ACC coach said. "I think that dude is going to help a playoff team within a couple of years.
He's got legit size, he's a little bit thin, but he can guard, he can shoot. Like, if you're comparing Isaiah Evans to Meleek Thomas, I don't think it's that close."
That kind of profile makes sense for Minnesota, especially with the team already deep at point guard. Evans brings size, length and the kind of upside that can be turned into a useful 3-and-D package if the development goes the right way. The offense still needs work, and the defensive discipline has to sharpen up, but the path is there.
He also walks into a situation that should make the process easier. His role is likely to be defined early, and he should have a chance to earn minutes right away if he makes the most of them. Minnesota has given itself leverage by landing what looks like a first-round talent in the second round, which opens the door for the player development side of the equation.
There’s also a familiar name waiting for him in the form of Jaden McDaniels, which only adds to the fit in the Twin Cities.
Duke under Jon Scheyer continues to produce NBA talent, but Evans is the kind of player who still needs more polish than the Blue Devils could fully extract in Durham. That leaves Finch with a ball of clay and a clear runway to shape it.
If Evans plays with a chip on his shoulder, there’s a real chance he becomes one of those picks that makes other teams regret passing. He has the kind of game that can catch on fast with a crowd, one made 3-pointer at a time, and Minnesota is the kind of place where that energy can travel.
The Timberwolves might not have originally planned to wait this long to get him - Minnesota could have potentially taken him at No. 28 if not for the trade with Brooklyn in the Julius Randle deal - but the end result is the same. They got the player they wanted, and they seem to view him as more than just a second-round flyer.
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