"Believe nothing you hear, and only half that you see," Edgar Allan Poe, from The System of Dr. Tarr and Prof. Fether.
There's no more apt quote to cite during the Transfer Portal cycle. The rumor mill is constantly flying. Teams and agents are throwing out smoke screens left and right to try to juice up the numbers of their clients, or bring them down, from the team's perspective.
A recent rumor has made waves in that Duke star wing Isaiah Evans could be contemplating entering the Transfer Portal, rather than declare for the draft or return to the Blue Devils for his junior season. That appears to be total hogwash.
WRAL's Chris Lea threw cold water on that rumor on Tuesday:
According to my source, the rumors about Isaiah Evans possibly transferring from Duke are completely false. His two choices remain between entering the draft or staying at Duke.
— Chris Lea - Sportscaster (@ChrisLeaTV) April 14, 2026
Isaiah Evans is still mulling the NBA or a return to Duke
The NBA Draft early entrant deadline is coming up. The deadline to declare is next Friday night, and Jon Scheyer is still waiting on decisions from Evans, Patrick Ngongba, and Dame Sarr.
Cameron Boozer is gone. He hasn't made that official yet, but there's little incentive for the National Player of the Year to return to school.
Sarr seems likely to return for his sophomore season, and there's renewed optimism that Ngongba will be back for his junior year. But Evans, a projected late first-round pick, seems to be leaning toward declaring for the draft.
Evans made a sophomore leap, averaging 15 points per game and consistently being Duke's biggest perimeter threat. A return to school could make sense for Evans, particularly with next season's draft being considerably weaker, at least on paper a year ahead of time.
Evans could return to Duke and parlay a big year into a potential lottery selection, but there's obvious risk involved in that, too. It would be hard to blame him, particularly if he gets a first-round promise, if he decides to go ahead and leave.
If Evans heads to the NBA, it makes Jon Scheyer finding a scoring punch in the backcourt in the Transfer Portal all the more important this offseason.
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