In addition to a few playoff hopefuls, the San Antonio Spurs have shown some interest in trading for New York Knicks wing Evan Fournier, according to Ian Begley of SNY.tv.
As Begley outlines, Fournier shares an agent with fellow Frenchman Victor Wembanyama, the No. 1 overall pick from last month’s draft. Fournier spoke last week about being intrigued by the possibility of joining San Antonio.
The 30-year-old’s $18.9M pseudo-expiring contract (he has a team option worth $19M in 2024-25) wouldn’t be viewed favorably by rival teams after he was pulled from New York’s rotation early last season. Fournier appeared in just 27 games in 2022-23, averaging 6.1 PPG and 1.8 RPG while shooting career worsts of 40.4 percent on twos and 30.7 percent on threes.
On the other hand, Fournier started all 80 of his games in 2021-22, averaging 14.1 PPG, 2.6 RPG, 2.1 APG and 1.0 SPG while converting the fourth-most three-pointers in the league (241, a career-high mark). He holds a career mark of 37.9 percent from beyond the arc.
After making multiple deals this offseason, the Spurs no longer have the salary-cap room to accommodate Fournier’s salary outright, Begley notes — they’d have to send money back to adhere to the NBA’s trade rules. The Knicks also haven’t shown any inclination to attach draft assets to move Fournier, Begley adds.
Fournier has come up in a couple other trade rumors this summer, but he remains on the Knicks’ roster for now – although he certainly hopes that isn’t the case when the season starts. It’s worth noting that Begley’s article is a week old (this is the first we’ve seen it) and a report a few days ago indicated Fournier could eventually become a buyout candidate if New York can’t trade him.
Begley’s mailbag column also touches on a handful of other topics. For example, he expresses skepticism that the Knicks were ever seriously interested in Chicago Bulls guard/forward Zach LaVine this offseason, despite having exploratory trade talks on the two-time All-Star at the February deadline. Begley also hears the Toronto Raptors were shutting down trade inquiries on OG Anunoby — a player the Knicks like — earlier this month.
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