After a very promising rookie season for Evan Fournier in Denver, the French shooting guard saw a little bit of a lull in production and impact during his second season. Between his second and third year, he was moved to the Orlando Magic in exchange for Arron Afflalo, a shooting guard who was coming off scoring 18.2 points per game for Orlando. In a league devoid of shooting guard depth, it was a calculated move by the Magic to save money and get younger at that position.
Last season, Fournier rebounded nicely from his second season and proved to be an important part of the Orlando's attack. It led to the Magic reportedly offering him a four-year extension worth $32 million, which would be a nice payday for a lot of rotation guys. With the salary cap jumping in 2016 and the lack of quality 2-guards around the league, Fournier rejected it and gambled on increasing his value even more, according to Shams Charania of Yahoo.
Fournier rejected a four-year, $32 million offer from the Magic, league sources told Yahoo, deciding to test restricted free agency in July. Ultimately, the NBA’s projected salary cap increase in 2016 and his upside produced an easy decision for Fournier.
“To be honest, I did not even expect to be extended,” Fournier told Yahoo. “I had no pressure about that. If there was something good, I will take it. If not, I can wait until the summer. I don’t have to worry about it and make the wrong decision. I have confidence in myself and the season that I’ll have. The contract will take care of itself.
“You can’t go on the court and think about a deal. You must be focused and you must have the right mindset.”
The early returns from this season show it was a brilliant move by Fournier. About a month into the season and Fournier is leading the Magic in scoring by a wide margin. His 19.2 points per game is far above teammate Nikola Vucevic's 15.1 per game, and Fournier's move to the small forward position has shown some pretty impressive versatility. The majority of his time on the floor in his first three years has come at the 2-guard, but playing alongside Victor Oladipo and Elfrid Payton is something adding real depth and options to Orlando's attack.
The four-year, $32 million extension would essentially be the same money Al-Farouq Aminu agreed to this summer with Portland, and because of position and skill set, it's easy to make the case for Fournier being a higher priority signing for most teams over someone like Aminu.
If you still classify Fournier as a shooting guard (or project him to play that with his next team if he leaves the Magic as a restricted free agent in 2016), he'd slot in seventh in the NBA in shooting guard scoring average -- just ahead of Dwyane Wade. If you consider him to be a full-time small forward moving forward, he's fifth in scoring behind Kawhi Leonard and ahead of former teammate Danilo Gallinari. Or he's 11th amongst all wings.
With the way money is going to be spent this coming summer, it may take Orlando agreeing to match an offer sheet of twice what they hoped to sign him for on that extension. This league has become so focused on perimeter play and Fournier has become a legitimate scorer in that respect.
