Swingman Tyreke Evans is trying to make a good impression for potential suitors as he enters unrestricted free agency, Matt Kawahara of the Sacramento Bee reports. Evans, who is in the final year of his four-year, $44MM contract, is trying to show teams that he’s still effective despite undergoing three knee surgeries, Kawahara continues. “A lot of teams know I had tough injuries so they want to see how I’m moving, how I’m playing every night,” Evans told Kawahara. “There’s teams watching. I know the Kings are watching, too. So I’m playing for my teammates still at the end of the day, but I’m going out there and being myself.” Evans is averaging 14 PPG on 47.4% shooting since being included in the DeMarcus Cousins trade with the Pelicans, though he hasn’t played in six of the last 11 games.
In other news regarding the Kings:
- Shooting guard Garrett Temple has emerged as a locker-room leader, Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee writes. Temple has taken the younger players under his wing and maintained an active role in their development, as he told Jones. “The players that are playing have gotten a lot younger so it’s more of a teaching, mentoring role,” Temple said. “Whereas when [Cousins] was here, if I’m talking to him it’s more of a keeping him calm, talking more nuances of the game, things that we can do better as a team. But with the young guys it’s a lot of specifics about how to get open, how to defend, ways to teach them the veteran tricks we all have learned in our years in the league.”
- Point guard Ty Lawson denies that he has violated his probation, according to an Associated Press report. Probation officials allege Lawson, who was given probation in a Colorado drunken driving case, has tested positive for alcohol three times in the past six months and has failed to complete his community service duties, the report continues. A judicial hearing will be held in May before a decision is made on whether Lawson will receive a more severe punishment, the report adds.
- Rookies Skal Labissiere, Georgios Papagiannis and Buddy Hield and second-year man Willie Cauley-Stein showed growth during a recent three-game road trip, as Shahbaz Khan of the team’s website details.