Knicks finally grant disgruntled guard's wish in Pistons trade
The New York Knicks finally put shooting guard Evan Fournier out of his misery on Thursday, shipping him to the Detroit Pistons in a multi-player deal that saw a pair of sharpshooters land in the Big Apple.
The move was first reported hours before Thursday's 3 p.m. ET trade deadline.
Last offseason, Fournier made his displeasure with the team (particularly head coach Tom Thibodeau) obvious when he complained about his lack of playing time in a July interview with Yann Ohnona of L'Equipe.
The 31-year-old's 27 games played during the 2022-23 season were a career low and his minutes (17.0), points (6.1), rebounds (1.8) and assists (1.3) per contest were the lowest since his 2012-13 year. Fournier's field goal (.337) and three-point field goal percentages (.307) were the worst he's ever posted as well.
The Knicks had their highest win total in 10 years last season and made the Eastern Conference semifinals for the first time since 2013, but Fournier didn't see a single minute of court time during the playoffs.
He played and started in 80 games during his first full campaign with New York in 2021-22 but lost significant playing time as Thibodeau decided to go with younger players. Each of the Knicks' top-10 players in games during the 2022-23 season were 28 years old or younger.
The tension between Fournier and "Thibs" escalated in October, when the two-time NBA Coach of the Year fired back at the veteran, saying "It's hard to argue with a 37-22 record (after Fournier was removed from the starting lineup) and a plus net rating."
For a while, it seemed like Fournier would never get traded. Unsurprisingly, the Frenchman played just three games with New York this season (once in November, once in December and once in January).
On Thursday, the Knicks finally granted his wish.
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