Evan Fournier opens up on Knicks tenure: ‘I want to play again’
It’s been nothing short of a disappointing last two seasons for New York Knicks guard Evan Fournier.
Two offseasons removed from signing a four-year, $73 million deal, the 6-foot-7 wing has essentially played out of the rotation in The Big Apple. He just had arguably the worst year of his career after being limited to just 27 games. Fournier averaged just 6.1 points, shooting 33.7 percent from the floor, 30.7 percent from 3-point range and 85.7 percent from the charity stripe–ultimately equaling a 47.1 true-shooting percentage, more than six percentage points worse than the second-worst mark of his career (53.3 TS% — ’13-14).
Earlier this summer, Fournier expressed his serious doubts surrounding his tenure in New York, stating he has no relationship with head coach Tom Thibodeau plus saying it would be a “disaster basketball-wise” for his career if he remained in New York.
Now, the 30-year-old guard appears more optimistic about his Knicks future with nearly a month left from Training Camp opening up.
“I want to play again. I want to have success,” he told Eurohoops.net when asked about his situation in New York. “I know I can help. I know I can play, I know I can do many things.”
Fournier, who has two years and $37.8 million left on his deal (including a $19M club option for the 2024-25 season), knows his future is not directly in his control–at least for the upcoming season. He has a max of $1.5 million of unlikely incentives baked into his deal depending on how many games he plays in the regular season and postseason.
“As you know it’s not in my hands,” Fournier said on his future. “If the Knicks want to keep me, I’ll have to stay, if they want to trade me I’ll have to go.”
The French guard started all 80 games with the Knicks in 2021-22, averaging 14.1 points, 2.6 rebounds and 2.1 assists on 55.4 percent true shooting. It’s a far cry he gets to that mark again in New York–especially after it signing Donte DiVincenzo to a four-year deal–but there’s a world where Fournier has more of a role than he did in 2022-23, even if his future there remains to look bleak as it currently stands.
Perhaps a trade suitor for Fournier emerges from the clouds over the next month or so in hopes of reviving his career? Time will tell. The Knicks are hard-capped and might need cap relief at some point ahead of the trade deadline if they want to improve. What do you think? Let us know in the comments below!
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