It has been a rough last two seasons for Evan Fournier in the NBA. He was often glued to the bench with the New York Knicks. Clearly unhappy with his situation, he often spoke of wanting to be shipped elsewhere. His wish was finally granted when the Knicks traded him to the Detroit Pistons in February.
With how miserable his past couple of years have been, many speculated that Fournier may leave the NBA to go to the EuroLeague. According to Marc Stein in his Substack, Fournier wants to continue his career in the NBA.
12-Year Vet Wants To Continue NBA Play Despite Recent Struggles
Stock Much Lower Than Last Time Fournier Was A Free Agent
During the 2021 offseason, Fournier signed with the Knicks on a four-year deal worth $73 million. While New York didn’t make the playoffs in 2021-22, Fournier displayed his sharpshooting prowess. He connected on 241 three-pointers, which was a Knicks single-season record until it was surpassed by Donte DiVincenzo last season.
Fournier started the 2022-23 season as the starter for New York’s first seven games, but they lost the last three of those. Never known for his defense, Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau decided to insert a more defensive-minded Quentin Grimes in the starting lineup in place of Fournier. He would appear in just 14 of New York’s last 69 games and none of their 11 postseason outings.
Before being traded to Detroit, the now 31-year-old Fournier appeared in just three games for the Knicks last season. He began to play again once he was traded to the Pistons, albeit on a very bad team. In 26 games with Detroit, Fournier posted averages of 7.2 points, 1.9 rebounds, and 1.6 assists in 18.7 minutes. He shot 37.3% from the field, 27.0% from beyond the arc, and 79.4% from the foul line.
After the season, the Pistons unsurprisingly declined his $19 million team option, making him an unrestricted free agent.
Will Fournier Get Signed By A NBA Team?
While Stein mentioned there should be NBA interest in Fournier, it’s hard to imagine anyone offering him more than a veteran’s minimum deal for next season. The past two seasons have cratered his value enough that a team may just see him as someone to take a flier on. He was previously a good scorer in the league for quite some time.
Fournier split his time between the Orlando Magic and Boston Celtics in the season before signing with the Knicks. In that 2020-21 season, he averaged 17.1 points while making a career-best 41.3% of his three-point tries. That season was the fourth time he averaged at least 17 points in a five-season stretch. His career-high scoring average of 18.5 came in 2019-20 with Orlando.
Fournier was selected with the 20th overall pick in the 2012 NBA Draft by the Denver Nuggets. He is now 12 seasons deep into his NBA career. His career averages consist of 13.6 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 2.5 assists in 704 regular season games. He has made 37.4% of his three-point attempts. Born and raised in France, Fournier played professionally in his home country before joining the NBA.