by James Ham & Jonathan Santiago
In his first go-around as an NBA free agent, Tyreke Evans is attracting quite a bit of attention.
He met Sunday night with the New Orleans Pelicans, who offered him a four-year contract worth an estimated $44 million, plus incentives. The Sacramento Kings have the right to match any deal for the restricted free agent, but multiple reports say that the Pelicans offer is constructed in a way that would make it difficult for the Kings to do so.
The Pelicans’ offer remains on the table. As of this morning, Evans has yet to agree to the deal and likely won’t make a decision until he’s done weighing all his options. Evans met yesterday with both the Kings and Detroit Pistons.
Evans could have as many as two more meetings Tuesday. According to a person familiar with the former rookie of the year’s free agency process, he has a sitdown scheduled later today with the Atlanta Hawks and possibly a meeting with one other undisclosed team in the Eastern Conference.
A source with knowledge of his situation says that Evans came away impressed by his meeting with the Kings, which included owner Vivek Ranadivé, general manager Pete D’Alessandro and coach Michael Malone. It believed that the 23-year-old swingman’s overall preference is to remain in Sacramento.
One piece to the puzzle that will not factor into Evans’ final decision is the length of the deal. According to a Cowbell Kingdom source, Evans is seeking a four-year contract that would end just months before his 28th birthday. Under the current collective bargaining agreement, the Kings have the option of signing him to a five-year deal.
Andre Iguodala update
In addition to meeting with Evans yesterday, the Kings met with free agent swingman Andre Iguodala. Like their meeting with Evans, Ranadivé, Malone and D’Alessandro reportedly made a joint pitch to woo the former All-Star to Sacramento.
According to Yahoo! Sports, Iguodala discussed opportunities with six different teams Monday. Including the Kings, Iguodala held meetings in Los Angeles with the Golden State Warriors, Detroit Pistons, New Orleans Pelicans, Atlanta Hawks and the incumbent Denver Nuggets. The Dallas Morning News reports that the Dallas Mavericks have also been in contact with the 29-year-old veteran.
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