Author: Michael Pina

Three years ago, Austin Daye was drafted out of Gonzaga with a prototypical skill set. He's really tall (6'11") and he could shoot the three-ball, which on paper made him a perfect fit for the increasingly valuable "stretch four" role that's overcome the league. But instead of taking advantage of his abilities and evolving into the type of player teams all across the league are currently salivating for—think Ryan Anderson; both players are 24 years old—Daye has struggled mightily. 

Playing out last season on a poor Detroit Pistons team, Daye found himself in and (mostly) out of the rotation. His three-point shooting dropped from 40.1% in 2010/11 to 21% in 2011/12, where he shot just 32.2% overall. Daye started just four games and faced constant trade rumors throughout the year. 

In April, Daye sat down with Hoopsworld.com's Steve Kyler to talk about his future with Detroit, which as of today looks bleak. Daye said he didn't think he had found a role with the team, and that the chances of him establishing one in the year ahead would most likely be predicated on his health as well as the possibility of a teammate or two ahead of him on the depth chart going down with an injury. 

Instead of giving their project some room to breathe and improve, Detroit made the puzzling decision to re-sign longtime Piston Tayshaun Prince to a new four-year deal, hurting Daye's already low confidence. Both players have identical skill sets which calls into question how exactly Pistons general manager Joe Dumars views Daye in terms of his future with the team.

His $2.96MM team option was exercised for the upcoming season, so he'll be back at least one more year, but after that Daye has a $4.14MM qualifying offer. Despite averaging just 5.9PPG in his three season career, Daye's body type and age make him an interesting prospect for teams searching for a diamond in the rough. If the Pistons choose not to extend Daye beyond next year, it most certainly won't be for as much as the four-year, $36MM deal Anderson was just given by the Hornets. In fact, this season should go a long way in deciding if his current contract will also be his last. 

Nobody knows what to expect from Tyreke Evans. His rookie season, in which he was named Rookie of the Year, was historically productive, posting averages of 20.1 PPG, 5.3 RPG, and 5.8 APG. (Those numbers hadn't been seen since LeBron James in 2003/04, and before that, Michael Jordan in his rookie year.) With his 6'6" body running the Kings, Evans was a matchup nightmare seemingly capable of doing whatever it was he wanted on the court.

The last two years have been a different story. After a bad case of plantar fasciitis forced him into an unfortunate sophomore slump, Evans came back last season to see a Kings roster full of young players in an overcrowded backcourt. The team responded by giving their franchise point guard minutes at the shooting guard and small forward positions, but his numbers remained down from that fantastic rookie season, calling into question whether Evans can ever reclaim his position as Sacramento's best player.

Things got so bad that once the season ended, Evans, a player who two years ago was touted as one of the league's brightest young stars, was placed on the trading block. Hoopsworld's Steve Kyler reported that the Kings were interested in dealing him by the 2012 draft, but by the end of July they'd decided to keep him on board for the time being. In late June, Cowbell Kingdom's James Ham wrote that Kings' general manager Geoff Petrie hadn't offered Evans an extension, but was working him out privately, suggesting a rooted interest in helping him grow as a basketball player within the organization.

Where things stand right now, it's highly unlikely the team offers Evans a max contract before he hits restricted free agency, and it's unclear how other teams around the league feel about his monetary value. What likely happens is the Kings take a patient approach and let Evans' market reveal itself next summer. It's unclear at this point whether or not they would match a max offer sheet should one get placed on the table. 

When discussing Tyreke Evans it should be mentioned that he's only 22-years-old, serves as a solid if not above average perimeter defender, and knows how to get to the basket. His ceiling as a player remains that of a perennial All-Star, but accurately predicting right now if he can ever reach it is impossible to do.