Evan Fournier has made two appearances for the New York Knicks this season. The veteran guard has been exiled from Tom Thibodeau’s rotation since November 15, 2022. Since then, Fournier has been used sparingly by the Knicks, usually discovering himself glued to the bench.
As such, when the Knicks made a trade for OG Anunoby on Saturday, Fournier discovered himself checking his cellphone to see whether or not his tenure with the Knickerbockers had come to an finish.
“Nicely, the factor is the way in which I discovered it, I feel it stated it was a commerce package deal surrounding RJ,” Fournier instructed Steve Popper of Newsday. “So in fact you see that, you’re like, ‘Oh.’ You test your cellphone and stuff. I sleep properly at evening. I don’t test my cellphone to see if there’s a commerce or something. I simply focus in on the second as a result of that’s the enterprise.”
Fournier joined the Knicks in 2021 following an unsuccessful spell with the Boston Celtics. In his first season with the franchise, Fournier averaged 14.1 factors, 2.6 rebounds, and a couple of.1 assists, capturing 46.5% from two-point vary and 38.9% from deep.
But, in his second season with the group, his numbers fell off a cliff. Producing 6.1 factors, 1.8 rebounds, and 1.3 assists on 40.4% from two-point vary and 30.7% from deep.
In equity, Fournier’s manufacturing dipped as a result of his court docket time had been slashed by virtually 10 minutes per recreation. Thibodeau likes his gamers to offer worth on each side of the court docket, main Immanuel Quickley and Quentin Grimes to be the popular guards off the bench. Since then, Fournier has been ready for the Knicks to search out him a brand new dwelling.
It has been 14 months since Fournier was initially dropped by Thibodeau. In that point, he is performed a complete of 15 occasions. Normally, his appearances have been late in video games or when the roster was coping with harm points.
Fournier is not a foul participant. He wowed followers throughout the FIBA World Cup over the summer time and was beforehand a core a part of the Orlando Magic’s rotation.
Nonetheless, Fournier does not match how Thibodeau desires his group to play. He was originally acquired by the entrance workplace after the Knicks’ lack of offense had been uncovered by the Atlanta Hawks within the 2022 playoffs.
The interior improvement of a number of gamers throughout the rotation rapidly eased the Knicks’ offensive issues, and all of the sudden, Fournier’s drawbacks on protection had been simpler to reside with out.
New York has a team option on Fournier’s contract for subsequent season. They’re unlikely to select that up. As such, the veteran guard will seemingly change into an unrestricted free agent on the finish of the season. Nonetheless, at 31, Fournier seemingly desires to be enjoying somewhat than losing away on the bench.
If the Knicks cannot discover a keen commerce associate for him earlier than the Feb. 8 commerce deadline, Fournier may change into a reliable buy-out candidate. He is too good to waste away on the bench for much longer.
The Knicks will seemingly look to resolve the difficulty within the coming weeks, a method or one other.