by James Ham & Jonathan Santiago
Tyreke Evans has committed to becoming a New Orleans Pelican. According to a source with knowledge of Evans’ situation, the fourth-year swingman has agreed to sign with the Pelicans when the league’s moratorium period is lifted on July 10.
Since Evans is a restricted free agent, the Sacramento Kings have will have up to three days to match the four-year, $44-million offer from the Pelicans. However if the Kings decide to match, there would be little resistance from the fourth-year swingman to come back to the capital city. According to a person close to Evans, the former rookie of the year is still open to welcoming a return to Sacramento.
Those familiar with Evans’ free agency process suggest that his preference was to verbally agree to a deal with the Kings. However, Evans and his camp grew frustrated by the lack of action on the part of the Kings’ regime to offer him a new contract. When there was no indication that the Kings planned to meet his requests today, Evans opted to commit to the Pelicans sooner rather than later.
In addition to matching the Pelicans’ offer, the Kings also have two additional options in front of them and 10 days to make a decision. They can let the 23-year-old swingman walk for nothing or work out a sign-and-trade to get assets in return from New Orleans. Greivis Vasquez and Robin Lopez are two pieces that have been speculated as possibilities for Sacramento should the two teams work out a sign-and-trade.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
