What if the Charlotte Hornets had signed Tyreke Evans?

The Charlotte Hornets came close to signing Tyreke Evans last summer; what kind of impact could he have made for the Hornets?

Tyreke Evans and the Indiana Pacers saw their season end Sunday afternoon after the Boston Celtics won Game 4 of the first round series. Evans’ play in the postseason had me wondering what he could have brought to a Charlotte Hornets team that was one win away from the playoffs.

Evans was a free agent last summer after a strong bounce-back season with the Grizzlies. He had multiple suitors, but as many know by now, he turned down offers from the Hornets and Los Angeles Lakers to join a Pacers team that is on the rise.

Indiana was seeking a second creator to pair next to Victor Oladipo, and Evans seemed like the perfect fit. That wasn’t the case, in the regular season at least. But in the playoffs, Evans flipped the switch and played a lot better.

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Evans averaged 10.2 points while shooting 35 percent from three-point range during the regular season. His postseason averages were 15.3 points and 4.3 rebounds while shooting 55 percent from deep.

Even after Oladipo went down with a season-ending quad injury, Evans just couldn’t get going and the team decided to sign Wesley Matthews and have him start at shooting guard. It was just a tough regular season for Evans.

He wasn’t the perfect fit we thought he would be in Indiana because he would be a ball stopper at times, and he was missing shots at the rim that he usually would make.

Now, what if he signed with the Hornets instead of the Pacers? Could he have been the difference that would have led them to the playoffs? We don’t know for sure, but it’s something to think about.

Since entering the league, Evans has been an offensive force, but the Hornets problems this season didn’t come on that end of the floor. They ranked 11th in the NBA in offensive rating, averaging 110.7 points per game.

They did struggle on the defensive end, though. The team ranked 22nd in the NBA in defensive rating, giving up 111.8 points per game.

Throughout his career, Evans hasn’t been known to be a defensive player, but he did have some good moments this season, which doesn’t surprise me since he’s playing under Nate McMillan, who was an elite on-ball defender back in the day.

Charlotte got some much offensive production from Kemba Walker and Jeremy Lamb during the season, so having a guy like Evans take some of the load off of them would have been nice during times when they struggled.

Evans would have almost certainly come off the bench, just like he has been doing in Indiana. Charlotte’s second unit was fun this year, but I would have loved to see Evans and Lamb together causing havoc for opposing second units.

If Evans were in Charlotte, though, we probably wouldn’t have seen that late season surge by Dwayne Bacon. Adding Evans would have just put him further back in the rotation, but he took advantage of his minutes when given the opportunity.

There is a counter point to that statement, though. Evans would have been a nice veteran for players like Bacon and Malik Monk to learn from, regardless if they were playing or not.

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Having a talent like Evans on the roster could have changed the outcome of some games during the season, and while we’ll never know what he could have done for this team during the season, it is fun to think about.

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