Duke's Isaiah Evans will have to wait a bit longer to find out what NBA city he will call home. Evans chose to enter the NBA Draft with two seasons of eligibility remaining, with the consensus being that he was a near-lock to be a first-round pick.
The first round came and went on Tuesday night without Evans hearing his name called, immediately calling into question his decision to leave Duke - and college in general - with remaining eligibility.
But nothing can be done about that now. Evans made his decision, and now he'll have to try to make the best of it. The good news is that he shouldn't have to wait long on Wednesday night during the second round. A lot of the top options for him late in the first round traded out of their pick to the early second round, and he should find a home quickly.
Isaiah Evans' best shot at NBA success will come from one of these 4 NBA teams
4. New York Knicks
The NBA champion New York Knicks will get things started on Wednesday night with the No. 31 pick to open the second round.
Probably.
New York originally had the No. 24 pick, but traded back multiple times to get out of the first round. Who knows if they will actually make the pick at 31 or look to move back even further to ensure as much cap savings as they possibly can with James Dolan looking to pinch pennies after bringing the Knicks their first title in 53 years.
The Knicks were one of the teams that certainly had some interest in Evans, who would slot in nicely on the wing in New York next to a ball-dominant guard in Jalen Brunson, who commands a lot of defensive attention. Evans would have the ability to be a catch-and-shoot specialist early in his career while working on the rest of his game on a deep Knicks roster.
3. Minnesota Timberwolves
The Minnesota Timberwolves were one of the teams most connected to Evans in the first round with pick No. 28. When they traded that pick to move off of Julius Randle's contract, that should have been an early warning sign that Evans could fall.
The Wolves will be on the clock for real on Wednesday night at pick No. 33. It's no secret that Minnesota would love to add some perimeter shooting around Anthony Edwards, which could make Evans quite appealing at the top of the second round if he's still available.
2. Denver Nuggets
It's hard to envision a more perfect landing spot for a player like Evans, who has the potential to be one of the premier shooters in the NBA, than alongside Nikola Jokic. The three-time league MVP has remained elite into his early 30s and commands a ton of defensive attention.
Jokic has a bunch of offensive gravity, and there's no player in the NBA better at finding open players than him, thanks to his incredible court vision. Jokic has a way of making the game easier for everyone around him, and that would be a nice boost for a young player like Evans.
Denver at pick No. 35 will hopefully represent the floor for Evans on Wednesday.
1. Memphis Grizzlies
Could there be a better spot for Evans than playing with Cameron Boozer again? We saw how well they meshed together in Durham, and perhaps they could replicate that in Memphis. Plus, Duke fans would have the added bonus of seeing the big three they could have had in 2025-26 with Evans, Boozer, and one-time Blue Devils commitment Cedric Coward.
Coward joked with Evans before the draft this week that they would have "tore it up" together in college. There could be a real opportunity for them to do the same in the NBA.
Memphis picks at No. 32 with the second pick of round two. They might be tempted to go all in on a Duke trio.
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