Like Blake Griffin, James Harden, and other members of the 2009 draft class, Tyreke Evans is heading into the final year of his rookie deal and will be eligible for a contract extension starting in July. Unlike Griffin and Harden, however, Evans is not expected to receive an extension offer this summer, according to Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee.
It doesn't come as a huge surprise that the Kings would wait on a possible extension for Evans. We heard from the Bee's Ailene Voisin in April that there's a good chance the 22-year-old is shopped in trade talks this summer. Sam Amick of SI.com also wrote earlier in the year that Evans' long-term future in Sacramento was unclear, and that an extension offer was unlikely unless he showed "major improvement."
Evans' scoring rate has declined in each season since he entered the NBA, from 20.1 PPG in his rookie year to 16.5 PPG in 2011/12. While many of his advanced stats (PER, TS%, etc.) showed an improvement over his 2010/11 production, Evans still isn't the team's strongest candidate for a lucrative long-term contract — that'd be DeMarcus Cousins, who will be extension-eligible in 2013. The Kings' uncertain long-term arena and ownership situation may also be a deterrent for an Evans extension.
If Evans doesn't receive a new contract this offseason, he'll be eligible for restricted free agency next summer, so the Kings will still have the chance to match any offers for the former fourth overall pick, assuming they keep him for the year.
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