Tyreke Evans joined the Indiana Pacers on a one year contract. That deal is perfect for both Evans and the Pacers.
It is rare that contracts end up being a perfect win-win. An innumerable amount of circumstances have to align perfectly for both a team and player to have the same short and long-term goals at the same time while also being the right fit for each other. That is exactly what happened for Tyreke Evans and the Indiana Pacers this summer.
Evans ventured into free agency looking for a sizeable one year deal that allows him to hunt for a long-term contract next summer when more teams have money. A short team deal allows him to prove that his exceptional season last year was not a fluke, too. It was the best situation for he and his camp.
The Indiana Pacers wanted to preserve cap flexibility going forward as they have only one more summer of having significant cap space before they have to pay Myles Turner and Domantas Sabonis bigger money. Thus, they were interested in giving one-year deals to talented players this past summer.
This intersection of supply and demand led to Tyreke Evans ending up in Indiana on a nearly perfect contract. Let’s take a closer look at the deal.
Tyreke Evans’ current contract
This summer, Evans inked a one year, $12,400,000 contract with the Indiana Pacers.
If only this was that easy. As I said, this contract was the perfect meeting of wants and needs, so it made sense for both sides. But like most NBA contracts, there is still a tiny level of intricacy in the deal.
Only $12,300,000 of the deal is guaranteed to Tyreke. $100,000 are in the contract as “incentives”, meaning that Evans has to reach a certain milestone to achieve them. What exactly that milestone has yet to be reported, but it should be noted that the incentive is a “likely” incentive, meaning that Evans met the criteria last season.
My guess is that the incentive criteria is “50 games played (or a number around 50 but below 53)”. Evans played in 52 games last season, so it is still a likely bonus, but it helps the Pacers save some money if Evans gets hurt and misses significant time, which he has done frequently in the past. This is all speculation though.
What contract comes next for Tyreke Evans?
Evans was simply outstanding in Memphis last season. Barring a complete catastrophe this season, his production won’t be bad enough to erase how useful he was as a Grizzly. Thus, I think he can get another decently sized contract next summer regardless of how well he plays this season.
More from 8 Points, 9 Seconds
- 2 Studs, 1 dud from gut-wrenching Indiana Pacers loss to Charlotte Hornets
- Handing out early-season grades for Pacers’ Bruce Brown, Obi Toppin
- 3 positives, 2 negatives in Pacers In-Season Tournament win vs. Cavaliers
- 2 positives, 3 negatives from first week of Indiana Pacers basketball
- Should Isaiah Jackson’s days with Indiana Pacers be numbered?
That being said, like every payer, he still stands to gain or lose money depending on his play. If he stays healthy for the entire season and puts up similar numbers to his 2017-18 campaign, he could end up getting a huge deal in the summer of 2019. Something like three years, $50-60 million wouldn’t be out of the question. But we have to see the health before that becomes a consideration.
For the Pacers specifically, how Evans plays will be fascinating to watch. His cap hold next summer will be worth monitoring; it will either be $14,760,000 or $14,880,000 depending on whether or not he meets his incentive criteria.
The Pacers will have what is called “non-Bird” rights on Evans next summer, meaning they could sign him to a deal up to three years in length and up to 120 percent of his previous years’salary and they could do so while over the salary cap. If Evans proves his worth and that worth is somewhere between $10 and $14 million, the front office could keep his cap hold on the books next summer, add other free agents, and then re-sign Evans when the timing is right and go over the cap. That would allow them to improve the team and keep Evans if they so choose.
But it is all dependant on his play this season…
What do I think comes next for Tyreke Evans financially?
The Indiana Pacers tend to take care of their own guys. If a player performs well, the team tends to give him a contract to match that.
If Evans performs well in the blue and gold, I would not be surprised at all to see the front office bring him back on a deal that is something like three years, $45 million. If he doesn’t perform, or he is good but not quite $12.4 million good, perhaps they will bring him back on a smaller deal.
If Evans doesn’t fit well in Indy, as I mentioned earlier, I still think his Memphis season will get him another deal. Maybe someone like Boston or Houston, right on the brink of title contention, could add Evans using their MLE. Evans will be taken care of in 2019.
Given the way the front office operates in Indiana, I think Evans stays here if he plays well. It’s that simple. But we have to see him play first. But for now, we can be thankful. Tyreke Evans has the perfect contract for the Indiana Pacers now, and this season should be a wonderful experiment.