New York Knicks 2023-24 Player Preview: Evan Fournier Fights For His Future
Autumn in New York ... from a basketball perspective, it's finally inviting.
The New York Knicks return to action on Wednesday night against the Boston Celtics (7 p.m. ET, ESPN) in a game that will officially open one of the more anticipated seasons in recent metropolitan memory. New York is coming off its most successful NBA season in a decade, winning 47 games and a playoff series for the first time since 2013.
With tip-off looming, All Knicks will analyze and preview what's to come for the major contributors on the blue-and-orange roster. Part IV will go to an outside perspective and discuss former three-point specialist Evan Fournier ...
Time will tell if Fournier (in blue) works his way back into the Knicks' rotation
Marc Lebryk-USA TODAY Sports
Player Profile
Name: Evan Fournier
Position: Guard/Forward
Height/Weight: 6-7, 205 lbs.
Country: France
Experience: 12th season (3rd with Knicks)
The Story So Far
Evan Fournier is the protagonist in one of the most bizarre sagas in recent Knicks memory: part of a 2021 sign-and-trade with Boston (just the fourth swap between the two teams and the first in 11 years), Fournier's pursuit of the Knicks' single-season record for successful three-pointers was part of the meager bread and circuses meant to distract from a dreary 2021-22 campaign that plunged to the lowest level of basketball purgatory.
But Knicks observers were left frustrated with a defensive game that left something to be desired and Fournier later became the relative poster child for head coach Tom Thibodeau's preference for veterans in lieu of affording youngsters like first-round rookie Quentin Grimes relatively consequence-free opportunities.
Thibodeau bucked the trend in the early stages of last season: Fournier began the year as the Knicks' primary shooting guard but was benched after only seven games and later eschewed from Thibodeau's nine-man set entirely. Grimes took over for the rest of the year while Fournier played only 14 games after mid-November. Even if there was a realistic case for Fournier's entry (i.e. shooting less than 30 percent from three-point range), he did partake in any postseason games.
Since then, Fournier's narrative has centered purely on trade rumors and new homes as viewers attempt to put his $18.9 million salary for the coming season to its best use. While Fournier has been a bit vocal about his eagerness to get back on the floor, those on the floor, both domestically and abroad, have praised the French-born sharpshooter for his resilience and professionalism in a difficult situation.
They Said It
“I might be dreaming of stuff, but to me, I can help the team. Like I’m a good player, I can f***ing play. I bring stuff that this team doesn’t have, too. So, I have hope to play, to be honest. I have hope to play. Maybe I’m crazy, I don’t know. Maybe Thibs has already made up his mind and stuff, but my goal is to put him in a position where he has to think about playing me.”-Fournier (h/t Stefan Bondy, New York Post)
“I think he can contribute and help a lot of teams. I think everybody knows it. But it’s kind of weird when you end up on the bench and you don’t really know why. Sometimes you can be stuck in a situation. I know he’s going to have an opportunity again, and everybody will understand that he can help and win and do it at a high level and do it every night.”-Timberwolves forward/Fournier's French teammate Rudy Gobert (h/t Stefan Bondy, New York Post)
2023-24 Forecast
Even with Fournier's shortcomings inside the arc, it's hard not to sympathize with his situation. As someone who's made a home for himself in three-point territory, there's no denying that he has a home in the modern NBA. But he's set to turn 32 later this month and it's not like the Knicks have given much of an opportunity to present himself to potential suitors.
Time will tell if Thibodeau reverts back to the nine-man set, but he was a bit more lenient in the early stages of last year. That'll make the early stages of the season crucial for not only Fournier's 2023-24 campaign but perhaps the rest of NBA career as well. If anyone on the current roster is destined not to finish upon it, Fournier by far carries the surest odds for the time being.
