New York Knicks Top-5 Shooters: #2 Evan Fournier
The New York Knicks’ biggest offseason acquisition is coming off of a strong shooting season.
Had Fournier averaged just 0.3 more points per game with the Magic this past season (he averaged 19.7) then maybe he’d have a little more respect on his name. Then he plays the 2nd half of the season with the Boston Celtics and that number goes down to 13.0.
Through it all, Fournier had a very efficient season and will continue to be a very productive scorer and shooter for the Knicks. He will be replacing Reggie Bullock in the rotation, who was a great spot-up shooter, but not someone who could generate their own offense.
Fournier is coming off of a season where he shot 41.3% from 3, including a whopping 46.3% from 3 in his 16 games with the Celtics.
Ok, that number may come down to earth a bit, but I think there’s reason to believe Fournier can shoot over 40% again with the Knicks.
He’s a player who had to create a lot of his own difficult shots during his time with the Orlando Magic. While New York is going to expect a lot of shot creation from him, he also has some other options (Randle, Barrett, Walker) to play off of and be a secondary shooter. His life is going to be a lot easier than it was with the Magic.
On catch-and-shoot 3s last season, Fournier shot 51.6% with the Celtics. In the 2018-19 season with the Magic, Fournier shot just 0.1% below 40 (let’s just call it back-to-back 40% 3-point shooting seasons) and over 42% on his catch-and-shoot attempts.
The bottom line is that Fournier is a lights-out shooter who has flown under the radar because he’s been playing for the Orlando Magic for the majority of his career.
Fournier is going to get plenty of open looks coming off of Julius Randle and Kemba Walker kick-outs and he’s going to be cash-money, francs in the bank.