Since starting the season with an 8-4 record, the Magic have dropped 27 of 32 games, and are now tied for the NBA’s worst record. Despite the team’s struggles, sharpshooter Evan Fournier tells Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel that he enjoys playing in Orlando and won’t ask the team to move him.
“Obviously, as a player you want to win,” Fournier said. “But I will never ask [for] a trade or anything. I’m not that kind of guy. I’m a fighter and I’m definitely not a quitter. I don’t know what they plan to do, but I’m a Magic. I feel like I belong here, and for as long as I’m going to be here, I’m going to fight for this jersey and this city, man. It’s that simple.”
Even if he doesn’t request a trade, Fournier is considered a candidate to be dealt before next month’s deadline, which is now just three weeks away. As we outlined on Wednesday when we identified several trade candidates in the Southeast, the 25-year-old has been the subject of several trade rumors already in 2018.
Marc Stein of the New York Times said this week that rival executives expect Orlando to actively shop him; Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders suggested last week that Fournier is the Magic player drawing the most trade interest from rival teams; and ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported earlier in January that the Pistons pursued a deal for the veteran swingman. For his part, Fournier is tuning those rumors out, as he tells Robbins.
“I’m not going to think about what’s going to happen or where I would enjoy playing or something, because it’s all speculation,” Fournier said. “That’s why I really don’t read this stuff: because you never know what’s going to happen. I got traded once and I had no idea. It really came out of nowhere. There were no rumors. There was nothing. And out of the blue I woke up one morning and I got traded. So I know this is just all talk. You really don’t know what’s going on upstairs [in front offices], so it really doesn’t matter, honestly.”
Fournier is enjoying a career year in Orlando so far this season, averaging 18.0 PPG with a .463/.396/.890 shooting line in 36 games (all starts). While that sort of production would appeal to many contenders, Fournier’s contract clouds his trade value. He’s owed $17MM annually through at least 2019/20, with a $17MM player option for 2020/21 — if he continues to improve, that’s not a bad price, but it’s a long-term commitment, and the cap number may be tricky for some teams to match in a trade.
I think the proper term for being a member of the Magic would be “Magician”
True Duffman, either that or “unlucky”
Singular mascot names are the worst. They usually sound immature & silly & often corporate, and they create grammatical issues. (excepting the Crimson Tide, which anyway could be either singular or plural)
Better to go plural and unique, and expect fans to join up and defend.
Fournier needs to learn how to play defense. Pay me what he’s getting paid and I’ll put in more effort then him.
I would even take half
I got a ton of stuff to take care or monthly, if the Magic pay me 50,000 I’ll make them a top 5 defense.
gotcha