Evans' new role "like a blessing"

Because of where he started and how he had to work harder than anyone else to earn a place among them, Reggie Evans accepts the stinging truth that he might never gain respect from the Sonics as a legitimate scoring option.

It hardly matters that he's averaging 12 points in the past five games, which is about eight higher than his career average.

He can win every post-up drill in practice, score a career-high 21 points like he did Tuesday in Phoenix, and continue to develop a nifty left-handed baby hook shot that surprisingly gets ignored in opponents' scouting reports.

But in many ways, Evans will always be the sweat-drenched, no-name kid from Iowa who went undrafted, but endeared himself to the Sonics coaching staff in the summer of 2002 because he did the dirty work no one else wanted to do.

Evans told the former coaching staff led by Nate McMillan that he could do more. Told them about his junior season when he led the nation in free throws made and attempted and about how he averaged 15.4 points as a senior. He told them that in two years at Iowa, he accounted for more than 1,000 points, which was a feat that only three other Hawkeyes had accomplished.

They listened and told him to set screens and retrieve rebounds. They made sure he understood that there was a pecking order being established and it began with Ray Allen, Rashard Lewis and a few other players whose names were not Reggie Evans.

They put him in the starting lineup because he hustled and dived into the courtside seats for loose balls, but rarely did he finish games because his career free-throw percentage clanks in at an abysmal 54 percent.

"I don't know why he [McMillan] didn't put me in," Evans said. "I felt like we could have won a lot of games if I would have played in the fourth quarter. But at the end of the day, that was his philosophy.

"I had to roll with it. There was nothing that I could do, but [coach Bob] Weiss is playing me, and it's like a blessing."

This season, Weiss has leaned heavily on Evans, who declined a two-year offer in the summer and signed a one-year, $1.1 million deal that allows him to become an unrestricted free agent next summer.

Lately, the Sonics coach has assigned Evans to defend the opponent's primary frontcourt scorer. On Monday, Evans held Washington's Antawn Jamison to four points.

Still, it's one thing to rely on Evans as a defender and quite another to give him precious offensive possessions. Weiss became aware of Evans' low-post prowess last season when he routinely outplayed Seattle's other big men in practice.

While Lewis remains the Sonics' top low-post option, Evans gets more than a few chances, usually in the first half, to score in the paint.

It's a role he still appears a little uneasy with because he has a black-hole presence about him. When the ball goes in, rarely does it come back out, and the other Sonics are left standing with nothing to do but stare as Evans muscles his way to the basket.

Most times, the 6-foot-8, 245-pound forward is overmatched physically. But in recent games he has negated the size of 7-footers Yao Ming, Joel Przybilla and Brendan Haywood with determination, unorthodox pivot moves and herky-jerky pump fakes.

Once his defender is off-balance or in the air, Evans releases a high-arcing hook that used to bounce hard off the glass, but these days is finding its way into the rim with surprising regularity.

"These few games, there's really nothing new going on with me. It's just that coach Weiss is giving me more chances to play with the ball," Evans said last Thursday after scoring 13 points against Houston. "I know what I can do and I think I know what this team expects of me. ... Now it's all about getting those two ideas to somehow merge."

There's always an innate danger when a player matures and pushes for an expanded role. First, he has to gain approval from his coach and support from teammates. Then he has to adjust to improved defenses geared to stop him. And finally he has to handle heightened expectations.

"I don't even want him to put pressure on himself to worry about having to score all the time because we'll find places where we'll get him the ball," Allen said. "He's shown the ability to score and get stuff for us, but now he's going to have to work on counter moves.

"You work to get your first move, but you have to find counter moves because now they'll say you're going to your left hand. He's still got a lot to learn about how to score and get to the free-throw line."

Evans understands that fame is fleeting, which is why he spoke almost sheepishly inside the visiting locker room at America West Arena as a crowd of media surrounded him to inquire about a career-best performance.

As he answered questions, more than one teammate shot inquisitive glances toward his direction as if to say: "Easy, young fella."

Evans allowed himself a few moments of bravado when he wondered why the Sonics didn't give him the ball more in the second half after he scored 17 before intermission. Perhaps sensing that Big Brother was watching, he reversed his stance, quoted the company line and said the offense must flow through Allen and Lewis.

When told his recent scoring burst will increase his value on the free-agent market, Evans flashed a devilish grin.

"I can't say some of things I want to say because it's not time," he said. "My time is coming. It's coming."

Notes

• Allen underwent an X-ray on his left thumb (nonshooting hand) after Tuesday's game in Phoenix. The results revealed no major damage. He's listed as probable for Friday's game against Dallas.

• The Sonics held a mandatory workout yesterday, in which players lifted weights and/or ran through drills. Media availability was canceled. Team officials said everyone, including Danny Fortson, who missed Tuesday's game because of a family illness, was in attendance.

• Forbes' 2005 valuations for NBA franchises put the Sonics 27th at $234 million, below the league average of $326 million. Seattle made $81 million in revenues, but lost $7.8 million in operating costs. New York ($543 million) topped the list.

Percy Allen: 206-464-2278 or pallen@seattletimes.com

Evans unleashed
Sonics forward Reggie Evans, above, is averaging 12 points and nine rebounds in his past five games, the best five-game stretch in his four-year career.
Opponent	Min	FG-A	FT-A	Pts	Reb
Phoenix	38	7-10	7-10	21*	18
Washington	24	2-4	6-8	10	6
Portland	37	1-6	1-2	3	5
Houston	22	6-8	1-2	13	8
Golden State	25	5-10	3-5	13	8
Five-game avg.	29.2	55.2	66.6	12.0	9.0
*Career-high