Knicks 'Comfortable' With Keeping Evan Fournier?

Evan Fournier has shown no interest in returning in a New York Knicks uniform next season but he might not have a choice.

Like George Costanza before him, Evan Fournier appears to be having trouble getting himself removed from a storied New York City-based sports franchise ... despite his best efforts.

Still officially stationed on the New York Knicks' roster, Fournier seemingly nuked any bridges he had left with the organization in an interview with Yann Ohnona of L'Equipe, ripping the "uncool times" that permanently situated him on the bench after starting the year as Manhattan's primary shooting guard.

Fournier claimed he would "be shot" if he ever suited up for the Knicks again and it's hard to imagine the team keeping him aboard an $18.8 million cap hit after exiling him from head coach Tom Thibodeau's nine-man rotation. A new report from SNY's Ian Begley, however, hints that the Knicks can tolerate Fournier's prescience on the sidelines again.

"I think the Knicks are going to have opportunities again, to move Fournier," Begley said on the Orange and Blue Bloods podcast. "But at this point, I don’t know, it just feels like they’re comfortable going into the season with him on the roster, out of the rotation and disgruntled.”

Many have pegged Fournier as a prime candidate to move to the San Antonio Spurs, where he could serve as a mentor for rookie phenom and fellow Frenchman Victor Wembanyama. Begley acknowledged that there's mutual interest about a Fournier deal but that the Knicks have been reluctant to open their overflowing draft pick cabinet in such a deal.

“I know that the (Spurs) and the Knicks talked during the offseason about Fournier. I know some people at Spurs thought about the benefits of adding Fournier to the roster, but I think that the Knicks have been totally unwilling to attach any draft compensation to a Fournier deal. So maybe that’s a sticking point there.”

Being held hostage for a draft pick could partly be the Knicks' own fault, as Fournier himself asked why the team refused to showcase him if they intended to ship him off. In only 27 games of action (only 11 coming after Jan. 1), Fournier averaged only 6.1 points and sank less than 31 percent of his attempts from the field after setting a Knicks single-season record with 241 successful triples the year before.

The Fournier fireworks continue to be an uncomfortable blemish on an otherwise comfortably uneventful offseason for the Knicks. There's plenty of time to resolve the situation before the season tips off though there's no sign of a coming end to this bizarre saga.

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Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags

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