Has Evan Fournier proven he should remain in Knicks rotation?
What did the New York Knicks’ eight-game winning streak and five-game losing streak have in common? Evan Fournier had been nowhere to be found, well, until Thursday’s road loss in San Antonio, that is.
From New York’s loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Nov. 13 until the Knicks’ last loss on Dec. 29, Fournier had not seen the floor; and it took injuries to both RJ Barrett and potential All-Star Jalen Brunson to make it happen. If this recent stretch has proven anything, it’s that Brunson makes the Knicks a much better team, and without him on the floor, scoring becomes a lot more scarce than it should be.
While there were plenty of issues that showed themselves throughout the recent losing streak, it became clear that Fournier needs to be included in the rotation for the time being.
Evan Fournier must remain in the New York Knicks’ rotation
In his return to action two nights before New Year’s Eve, the France native put up 11 points on 4-of-6 shooting in just 16 minutes. Two days later against Houston, the 11-year vet tallied eight more points with a +12 plus-minus rating.
If the last few games have shown anything, it’s that Fournier can definitely provide an offensive boost off the bench when some of the go-to starters such as Julius Randle need a rest.
I’m not saying that we’re going to get the Evan that dropped 41 points against Boston almost one year ago today, but we could be getting someone that can provide some much-needed extra scoring.
It’s easy to understand why going back to the nine-man rotation would be easy once Barrett is healthy. The Knicks are 9-3 when all nine of those players are active and there has been an established identity of basketball ever since the change was made. Regardless, I think there are two reasonable options that you have when it comes to Fournier.
If you don’t want to play him, trade him. The 30-year-old is making exactly $18 million this season and that’s money that absolutely can and needs to be used on a rotation player. There are plenty of teams out there looking to dump contracts so I’m sure by the deadline, the Knicks could find a partner to make a swap with.
If trading him doesn’t work, make him the 10th man. While two of the four reserves are centers in Jericho Sims and Isaiah Hartenstein, there is no established forward that is currently coming off the bench. You could easily plug Fournier in at the 3 off the bench and allow him to help defend bigger guards that are too overwhelming for guys like Deuce McBride and the aforementioned Quickley.
At the end of the day, there are pros and cons to the game of Evan Fournier that need to be weighed, and it’s easy to see that maybe he didn’t deserve the contract he received two summers ago. However, a major decision regarding his roster status needs to be made soon, and letting him ride the bench is not a productive one.
