Jacob Evans drew the attention of the Golden State Warriors as much for his defense as his versatility.

”He’s a serious player http://www.redskinsauthorizedshops.com/authentic-geron-christian-jersey ,” Warriors GM Bob Myers said Thursday night after making the 6-foot-6 Cincinnati wing player their first-round pick with the 28th overall selection. ”He’s defensive-minded. He has a knack for it and a nose for rebounds.”

Evans worked out twice for the Warriors, once on the day of the championship parade and again on Wednesday. He was one of many wing players taken in the first round.

”He’s that kind of a modern NBA player who is versatile and tough,” Myers said. ”He fits a lot of things we do. That’s an area we don’t have a lot of depth.”

Evans, who turned 21 three days ago, was a finalist for the Julius Erving Small Forward of the Year award a year after being a finalist for the Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year.

Evans averaged 11.7 points, 2.5 assists and 4.3 rebounds in 105 career games with Cincinnati.

Evans, named first team all-AAC, finished his career with the Bearcats with a 37.7 3-point shooting percentage, fifth in school history.

His mother, Theresa Chatman-Evans Nate Solder Color Rush Jersey , was a point guard at Grambling.

”When our pick came up it was clear it would be him,” Myers said. ”There were a lot of wings taken and we had him rated higher than where he went.”

The two-time defending NBA champion Warriors’ brass considered a number of similar players that may have been available. They wanted to draft someone who could step in and play 10 minutes a game while giving the team depth on the perimeter.

”I think we got that guy, I don’t know,” Myers said. ”He’s all business and he seems willing to work. He knows how to play basketball.”

With a host of All-Stars already on the roster, Golden State had the luxury of looking for a specific position. Evans fit the bill.

Draymond Green spent a lot of time with the draft preparation and sat in on Evans’ workouts. He stayed for the draft and spoke with Evans after he was drafted.

The Warriors didn’t have a second-round pick Thursday after trading it to the Denver Nuggets five years ago for Andre Iguodala.

Myers said he tried to work out a deal for another pick in the second round.

”We tried. We were pretty aggressive,” Myers said. ”A couple of different times we thought things would work out but then the player would get drafted. We were being selective.”

With little room on the roster, Myers said he was happy with the way things worked out.

”Depending on (Patrick) McCaw and (Kevon) Looney, we don’t have a lot of room on the roster,” he said. ”It’s not like we have six roster spots open.”

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A position-by-position look at the matchups in the NBA Finals between the Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers:

CENTER: Kevon Looney vs. Tristan Thompson. An afterthought much of the season, Thompson rejoined the Cleveland rotation in the playoffs and has provided the Cavaliers with 6.1 points and 6.1 rebounds per game. Warriors coach Steve Kerr went with Looney against Houston but could go a number of ways in this series Authentic Josh Allen Jersey , with JaVale McGee, Zaza Pachulia and Jordan Bell among his options. And of course, the Warriors are at their best when they go with none of the above, using Draymond Green as the center in a small-ball lineup. Edge: Warriors.

POWER FORWARD: Draymond Green vs. Kevin Love or Jeff Green. The Cavaliers are hoping Love can return after the All-Star missed Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals because of a concussion. Jeff Green started in his place and scored 19 points in the victory in Boston. Neither player can match the all-around production the Warriors get from Draymond Green, with his defense, rebounding and passing. All he has to do is keep his emotions in check. Edge: Warriors.

SMALL FORWARD: Kevin Durant vs. LeBron James. Durant was last year’s NBA Finals MVP, is the No. 3 scorer by average among players who have played at least 10 finals games (32.9 points), and still might be the second-best forward in this series. That’s how good James remains at 33, as he proved while averaging 34 points, 9.2 rebounds and 8.8 assists in the Eastern Conference playoffs. In his eighth straight NBA Finals http://www.billsauthorizedshops.com/authentic-jeremy-kerley-jersey , he probably needs to produce numbers like that in every game to give the Cavaliers any chance. Edge: Cavaliers.

SHOOTING GUARD: Klay Thompson vs. J.R. Smith. The Warriors might not even be here without Thompson’s clutch performance in Game 6 of the West finals against Houston. He can heat up in a hurry from the outside, and as an added benefit no longer has to spend so much energy defending Kyrie Irving as he did so often in the last two NBA Finals. Smith can also heat up, but can also be prone to prolonged bad streaks and losses of concentration, and the Warriors feast on those. Edge: Warriors.

POINT GUARD: Stephen Curry vs. George Hill. Injured to start the postseason, Curry showed just how explosive he and the Warriors remain with some big third quarters in the West finals. There were questions as he struggled earlier in that series if he still wasn’t fully healthy, but he sure looked good enough at the end. Hill is a steady veteran and the most productive of the four players the Cavaliers acquired at the trade deadline, but like a lot of Cavaliers will be at a speed disadvantage in this series. Edge: Warriors.

RESERVES: Andre Iguodala, Shaun Livingston, Nick Young, McGee D.J. Fluker Color Rush Jersey , Bell, David West, Pachulia, Quinn Cook and Patrick McCaw vs. Kyle Korver, Jeff Green, Jordan Clarkson, Larry Nance Jr., Rodney Hood, Jose Calderon and Cedi Osman. Iguodala’s health looms as the biggest question entering the series after he was sidelined for much of the West finals with a bone bruise in his leg. The 2015 NBA Finals MVP leads the defensive effort against James and is part of the Warriors’ best lineup. Korver’s shooting is a key off the Cleveland bench, but Clarkson Jerome Baker Color Rush Jersey , Nance and Hood have never become regularly reliable after being acquired in February. Edge: Warriors.

COACHES: Steve Kerr vs. Tyronn Lue. This was a challenging season for both. Lue stepped away from his team for a while for health reasons, as Kerr had to do during the last two seasons. Kerr acknowledged the struggles of keeping his team motivated this season, even letting the players coach themselves in timeouts during one game. Both coaches pushed the right buttons when their teams were pushed to the brink in earlier rounds, but Kerr just has more of them at his disposal. Edge: Warriors.

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