Monday, October 7, 2024

NBA free agency: Evan Fournier leaving league after 12 seasons to sign with Olympiacos, per report

NBA free agency: Evan Fournier leaving league after 12 seasons to sign with Olympiacos, per report
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Veteran guard Evan Fournier has decided to leave the NBA after 12 seasons and sign with Greek powerhouse Olympiacos, according to Shams Charania. Fournier’s deal with 14-time Greek champions will be worth $4 million over two years. 

In February, Fournier was traded from the New York Knicks to the Detroit Pistons as part of the Bojan Bogdanovic deal. He appeared in 29 games with the Pistons down the stretch, who then declined to pick up the $19 million team option on his contract for the 2024-25 season, making him an unrestricted free agent. 

Set to turn 32 years old next month, there’s a good chance Fournier has played his last game in the NBA. A first-round pick by the Denver Nuggets back in 2012, Fournier spent 12 seasons in the league with five different franchises. 

He first gained real recognition with the Orlando Magic after he arrived in a trade that sent Aaron Afflalo the other way. In Orlando he received more playing time and opportunities, and grew into a reliable perimeter scorer. He put up at least 15 points per game in six consecutive seasons, and averaged a career-high 18.5 per game in the pandemic-shortened 2019-20 campaign. During that time, he helped the Magic make the playoffs in back-to-back seasons, though they were eliminated in the first round on each occasion. 

The Magic then traded him to the Boston Celtics in 2021, but that stint only lasted until the end of the season. He was dealt again a few months later to the New York Knicks, and enjoyed a solid first season in Madison Square Garden. In fact, he set the franchise’s single-season 3-pointers record with 241, though it has since been broken by Donte DiVincenzo

Fournier’s tenure in New York eventually fizzled out, and he was just running out the clock with the Pistons towards the end of last season. 

In recent years, Fournier has also been a key contributor to the French national team, and helped his country win silver medals at both the 2020 and 2024 Olympics. He averaged 9.8 points and 2.2 assists for France in Paris earlier this summer, and scored eight points in the gold medal game, which the French lost in dramatic fashion to the United States. 

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