Evan Fournier Slams Knicks Over Trade Pressure In An Interview

Fournier acknowledged that he doesn’t get along with Thibodeau, the head coach. He wants to be dealt with and doesn’t see how the Knicks’ hierarchy makes sense. Fournier claims to have lost the enjoyment of basketball and longs to rediscover it.

Evan Fournier Slams Knicks Over Trade Pressure In An Interview

In an interview with French publication L’Equipe, the 30-year-old Frenchman attacked the group, ostensibly ending any hope of reconciliation.

Fournier acknowledged that his own NBA future largely rests on the Knicks’ decision to either trade or cut him, likely in an effort to put more pressure on them.

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“I would be shot. I’m going to be traded, it’s not possible otherwise,” Fournier told the outlet, translated from French. “Or I’d be stuck, and so would they. They have several players with big contracts coming in. Unless they want to pay a crazy luxury tax.

“If I stayed, it would be a disaster basketball-wise for my career. I can manage a year without playing. Two, that would be terrible.”

Fournier was traded from Boston to New York in August 2021, and in his first season, he established a club mark with 241 made three-pointers.

After Quentin Grimes overtook him as the primary shooting guard for the Knicks at the start of the season, he was nearly exiled and played in only 11 games (none in the postseason).

“You want to spit on everyone. You have hatred,” Fournier said. “Derrick Rose and I looked at each other and said to each other: ‘What the hell are we doing here?’ During the five-on-five practice, we were on the side like some prospects. Uncool times.”

“When I realized that wouldn’t change, I took things more slowly. I focused on myself and didn’t let the rest get to me anymore. I did three cardio sessions, two weight training sessions per week, a lot of travel work, (analyzing) game situations with an assistant coach, Daniel Brady.”

He struggled in his first season with the team, averaging 14.1 points per game on 42 percent field goal shooting and 39 percent from beyond the arc. Last season, he was mostly cut from the rotation and a spectator.

A career-low since his rookie season, he averaged just 6.1 points per game while shooting a pitiful 34 percent from the field and 31 percent from outside the arc. He was ineligible to play in any of the Knicks’ postseason games.

The $18.9 million that the Knicks owe Fournier for the next season is the last of his guaranteed money because the fourth year of his contract is a team option.

 

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