Former Cowboy Jawun Evans Waived by Clippers, Still Owed $1.4M

ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported earlier this afternoon that the Los Angeles Clippers will waive former Oklahoma State point guard Jawun Evans.

New Orleans is acquiring Clippers forward Wesley Johnson in a trade for center Alexis Ajinca, league sources tell ESPN. Clippers will waive Ajinca and guard Juwan Evans to get to 15 for opening night.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) October 15, 2018

The Clippers apparently tried to trade Evans but were unsuccessful.

The Clippers had tried to trade Jawun Evans, but instead will waive him. Other teams like Evans, but preferred to take their chances on a waiver claim or hoping to sign him as a free agent.

— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) October 15, 2018

I wrote about the Clippers current roster situation in relation to Evans last week. With the plethora of guards on the LAC roster, all signs were pointing to Evans being waived, especially after he didn’t get very much run in the preseason.

Evans averaged 4.8 points, 2.1 assists. 1.8 rebounds and 0.8 steals in 16.2 minutes per game during his rookie campaign a year ago. In addition, he shot 35.2 percent from the field, including 27.8 percent from beyond the arc. The former Cowboy signed a three-year deal in July 2017 with the first two years guaranteed and a team option in the third year. This means the Clippers still owe Evans $1.38 million this season even though he is no longer on their roster.

Jawun was a casualty of too much PG depth. Once the team drafted Shai + Milos opted in, his days were numbered.

Wes was a tougher cut — yes, they technically traded him but they essentially waived him and saved $ — but nice to see Clips favoring younger talent in Ty and Sind.

— Jovan Buha (@jovanbuha) October 15, 2018

Along with Evans, the Clippers will also waive Alexis Ajinca (who they just acquired via trade) to get their roster down to the league required 15 spots (not including the allowed two, two-way contracts).

As @BobbyMarks42 says, there's no deal unless the transaction is completed with league office in time for the Clippers to waive Ajinca before the 5 PM ET deadline. https://t.co/eP1IlsvMio

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) October 15, 2018

There are plenty of teams which need point guard depth, so I think Evans will get picked up and still be on an NBA roster this season. However, if he doesn’t continue playing in the NBA or the G-League, he would definitely find a spot professionally overseas.

He showed the ability to run a second unit and played well on the defensive end last season. If Evans can improve his shooting, I could see him sticking around the league as a solid backup point guard for years to come.