Ever since the Miami Heat defeated the New York Knicks in the playoffs, shooting guard Evan Fournier has said that his time in the Big Apple is over.
“There’s no way they’re going to keep me," Fournier said shortly after the Game 6 loss. "My season has been over for a very long time, actually. This officially is the end, but my season was over a long time ago. It took me a good month to understand that."
Fournier is expected to be traded because of his heavy contract (guaranteed over $18.8 million in 2023-24 and $19 million player option the following year) and poor shooting (33.7 percent) this past season. He was barely in the rotation after Nov. 15 as well, appearing in only 14 games, none during the postseason run.
SNY's Ian Begley stated that Fournier should be traded before the season tips off. He mentioned that several teams have inquired about Fournier, but there's a team to "keep an eye on."
"The Knicks and San Antonio Spurs have touched base casually about potential Fournier deals," Begley said. "But I was told recently that the Knicks took a stance on not wanting to add any draft compensation in a Fournier deal that would send him to another team. If it's San Antonio, they don't have an interest in adding compensation."
It's clear that assets will have to be moved around on both sides to make a trade work. With that being said, Fournier addressed the possibility of joining the five-time NBA champions on Monday in an interview with Yann Ohnona of L'Equipe.
“It's not the Spurs of 2014 anymore but playing for Coach Pop and learning from him, it would be a pleasure and an honor, for sure," Fournier said. "Being with Victor (Wembanyama), looking at the Olympics, being able to start chemistry on the court, that would be great."
If he joins the Spurs, Fournier would share a French connection with rookies Wembanyama and Sidy Cissoko, making him a potential mentor to them.
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