Disappointing Knicks tenure leads to overseas interest in former player

The New York Knicks acquired Evan Fournier three years ago via a sign-and-trade with the Celtics. The guard signed a four-year deal worth up to $78 million but didn't last two full seasons in the starting lineup before Quentin Grimes replaced him.

The season after setting the Knicks record for threes made in a single season (that Donte DiVincenzo has since broken), Fournier was delegated to the bench. He quickly became an afterthought. In 2023, New York signed DiVincenzo to a four-year deal, and he replaced Grimes as a starter.

After over a year of hoping for a trade, the Knicks traded Fournier and Grimes to the Pistons before the 2024 deadline for Bojan Bogdanovic and Alec Burks. Fournier expressed his excitement over the new opportunity. He finished the regular season averaging 7.2 points per game on 37.3% shooting from the field and 27% from three.

ASVEL and Olympiakos reportedly interested in Evan Fournier

Fournier has a $19 million club option for 2024-25 that the Pistons are expected to decline, making the 31-year-old a free agent. Given his significant dip in production over the past couple of seasons, he could be a player who sits on the market for a while. He certainly won't sign a deal comparable to the one he signed three years ago with the Knicks.

According to Basket USA, there's a rumor that ASVEL (a professional French basketball team) and Olympiakos (a Greek professional basketball club) are interested in Fournier.

" This rumor circulated over the weekend, especially during the EuroLeague Final Four in Berlin. It seems plausible since the French player had a very challenging season and a half with the Knicks, where he was relegated to the end of the bench."

- Basket USA

Basket USA reported that Fournier's camp didn't address the rumor head-on but that they did say returning to Europe isn't a "priority" for him.

Fournier is expected to represent France at the 2024 Paris Olympics, where he could up his stock. The Olympics don't start until late July, so at that point, he could've signed with a team, but there's a good chance that he will still be a free agent.

Even though Fournier's Knicks tenure didn't pan out as hoped, hopefully, he'll get his career back on track.