Isaiah Evans’ first summer league game in a Timberwolves uniform was rough on the stat sheet, but it’s not the kind of debut that should send Minnesota fans into a spiral.
The rookie finally got on the floor Saturday against the Denver Nuggets after sitting out the Timberwolves’ opening summer league game against the Pelicans. His delayed debut was tied to the LaMelo Ball trade, with the four-team deal becoming official on Friday. Once Evans did suit up, the shot simply wasn’t there: he finished 2-for-15 from the field and missed all nine of his 3-point attempts.
That kind of line is going to jump off the page, especially for a player whose calling card is supposed to be perimeter shooting. But the bigger takeaway from the game was less about the misses and more about what they revealed.
Evans looked like a rookie still adjusting to NBA-level physicality, especially when he had the ball in his hands. Against more physical guards, he didn’t yet look built to absorb the contact that comes with creating off the dribble.
His jumper was off, too. A lot of his looks were short, and the rhythm just wasn’t there.
Still, the shooting struggles didn’t erase everything else he brought to the floor. Evans made a real impact defensively, and that part of his game stood out in a game where Minnesota had issues on that end overall.
That’s where the optimism comes in for the Timberwolves. Evans’ reputation as a prospect was built largely on his shooting, and the numbers from Duke back that up.
Over two seasons there, he hit 38 percent of his threes on 5.8 attempts per game. That’s the skill Minnesota is betting on, especially with Donte DiVincenzo set to miss at least the start of the season.
The Wolves drafted Evans with the hope that he could help cover that gap, and they’ll be counting on this performance being the exception rather than the rule.
It also matters that summer league asks more of Evans on the ball than he’ll likely be asked to do once the real games start. That extra responsibility can expose rough edges that won’t show up as often in the regular season.
Even with the ugly shooting night, Evans gave Minnesota something useful to build on defensively. He was active, locked in, and used his length well to compensate for the physical mismatch.
At 6-foot-6 with nearly a 6-foot-9 wingspan, plus good lateral quickness, he has the tools to become another perimeter option for the Timberwolves. That kind of profile could even help free Jaden McDaniels to roam more.
There’s also the reality that Chris Finch usually doesn’t lean heavily on rookies, so Evans’ role this season is likely to be small. But if the shot comes around and the defensive effort stays where it was against Denver, he has a path to becoming the kind of 3-and-D guard Minnesota has been looking for.
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