NY Knicks: 4 Players Who Will Benefit From the Evan Fournier Signing

Will RJ Barrett benefit from being teammates with Evan Fournier?

Fournier will form one of the league’s most intriguing wing combinations when he teams up with the Knicks’ 21-year old budding star.

Barrett just finished a sophomore season where he averaged 17.6 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 3.0 assists on 44.1% shooting. (40.1% from three)

It’s going to be a hassle for defenses to deal with a duo in which either player could score 20+ points on any given night.

Fournier’s shooting prowess is going to force defenses to respect his shot which would help Barrett have clear driving lanes into the paint.

While the former 3rd overall pick improved in almost every area as a sophomore, he shot 60.5% at the rim which ranked slightly below the league average.

The main reason for this was that defenses weren’t worried about anybody other than Julius Randle manufacturing offense, so they were able to load up on Barrett’s drives and deter some of his shots.

Fournier’s spacing would allow Barrett easier scoring opportunities, similar to his impact on Boston Celtics All-Star Jayson Tatum.

In the 15 games that he played alongside Fournier, Tatum averaged 29.7 points, 7.9 rebounds, and 3.8 assists on 49-40-84 shooting splits.

In the 49 games he played without Fournier, Tatum averaged just 25.4 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 4.5 assists on 45-38-88 shooting splits.

If he can complement Barrett the same way he complemented Tatum, it would provide a boost towards the former Duke star fully realizing his All-Star potential as a Knick.