So this summer you've been doing some good things for the kids in your hometown Chester. Along with VSP Vision Care, you brought a mobile eyecare clinic that allowed both adults and kids to receive free comprehensive eye exams and free glasses if needed, among other things, right?
Tyreke Evans: Yeah, the day before I had dinner with my family and everything went great, and the next day I went to this school in Chester and worked with VSP. We surprised the kids, they have their eyes examined… That's something we do every year, this was the third year and everything went great. I think that's something very important, to help the kids at least once a year.
Do you like your new city?
TE: I love it, it's nice. The food is great, people are nice. It's a new start.
Jamal Crawford is a fan of your ballhandling skills and you two put on a show during the last pro-am in Seattle.
TE: Well, actually me and Jamal are pretty close now. They wanted me to come to Seattle and play the pro-am. I took the trip out there… The fans were amazing and it was a great experience.
How's been meeting your new teammates?
TE: It's been great, working hard together, getting to know these guys pretty well before the start of training camp.
I guess you'll be doing a lot of pick-and-roll plays with Anthony Davis this season.
TE: Yeah, Anthony is a talented player, he's still learning the game but he plays the game the right way and he'll get better. So when I'm on the court with him, we'll definitely run the pick-and-roll game, he knows when to roll hard and he knows when to shoot the ball. It's not going to be an issue for me.
You know Jrue Holiday pretty well. What have you talked about?
TE: We know how hard we work and how we play so we both know each other. We're both excited by the fact we'll be playing together this season.
What about Eric Gordon?
TE: I talked with Eric before training camp and we went out to dinner. We had a long talk and he is very excited. Last year, he was really frustrated because he didn't have any help. Now I'm here, Jrue… We've been in the league for a while, so he's really excited about that. You know, it was a tough situation for him to go through something like that. Everybody wants to win and now here we have that opportunity with the team we have. We just have to play hard and play together.
So there's you, Eric Gordon and Jrue Holiday. It's a very poweful backcourt. How's that going to work?
TE: That's a good question. I think we all understand the game, but at the end of the day, when the game is on the line, we have to create for each other, making it hard for teams to stop us. That's what we really have to work on. With us three on the court, we should be able to score at will. There's no way we shouldn't be putting the ball in the hole. With the talent we've got, that's the challenge for us, open the floor for each other.
Well, you've said you'd be OK if you started the season off the bench. What responsibilities would you like to have if that's the case? What kind of role?
TE: A Manu Ginobili kind of role. Stepping on the court, being aggressive, helping run the team and staying there at the end if the game is on the line. Something like the Spurs did with Ginobili.
How far can this team go this season?
TE: With the team we've got, definitely a playoff team. But it's our first year so we'll have to work hard, getting to know each other… But we'll try to be successful and get to the playoffs.
There's been a lot of coaching changes during your career, and through that process you've played the point guard, shooting guard and small forwards spots. In which way has that affected your game and maybe your confidence?
TE: It kind of helped me grow as a player. That's a good thing to become one of those combo guards in the league.
Who has been your best coach so far?
TE: Paul Westphal. He played for Phoenix and he liked to push up the tempo and have fun on the floor.
What does coach Monty Williams expect from you season?
TE: He hasn't told me what he expects from me, but he talked with me before training camp that he already had plays for me – on the wing, on the elbow, things like that.
Why things didn't work out in Sacramento?
TE: We just went through a lot – a new arena, changing coaches… Stuff like that. Sometimes situations don't work so I think it was time for a change.
