Getty Evan Fournier, New York Knicks
The New York Knicks have been quiet for the past several weeks after starting the offseason with a flurry of moves that would made with the intention of landing Jalen Brunson from the Dallas Mavericks.
With Brunson now the point guard for the team for at least the next four years, New York shifted their focus on landing Utah Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell. Talks have crawled to a near halt, but there’s still optimism a deal will get done and the guard will become a Knick.
On the other end of the country, the Los Angeles Lakers are looking at ways they can upgrade their roster, and insider Marc Stein reveals they could get involved in three-way trades as a way to bolster themselves, and that could lead to the Knicks getting involved.
“The two future first-round picks that the Lakers possess in 2027 and 2029 are the kind of top-shelf draft picks that Jazz CEO Danny Ainge is believed to covet,” he wrote. “Russell Westbrook’s $47 million expiring contract and those picks could be the Lakers’ entree to a potential three-team swap … depending on the players that would land in Los Angeles.”
For the Lakers, those two draft picks are important because LeBron James will almost certainly be retired by 2027, and there’s no telling what the skill level of the team will be by then, and those picks might end up being very high.
Because of this, Stein reports the Lakers are open to trading those picks in a three-team deal, but only if it improves the team. Building on top of that, he lists Knicks sharpshooter Evan Fournier as a possibility.
“The Lakers, I’m told, continue to hold firm on their position that they will agree to surrender both of their future firsts in the same deal only if the trade makes them a certified contender,” he wrote. “Does a three-teamer that routes, say, Utah’s Bojan Bogdanović and New York’s Evan Fournier to the Lakers rise to that level?”
Fournier Would Be Massive
It flies under the radar, but Fournier set the Knicks franchise record for most three pointers made in a season last year, but it didn’t do anything to get the team into the playoffs.
However, it’s clear he’s a good shooter and he would help out any team that acquired him, including the Lakers. With Russell Westbrook, LeBron James and Anthony Davis all in the starting lineup, there was a lot to be desired when it came to outside shooting for the team, and Fournier would fill a big void there.
Westbrook would almost certainly be included in any swaps the Lakers make, and that would do wonders for spacing on its own, but adding Fournier would be the icing on the cake.
Will the Knicks Move Him?
Considering Fournier just finished up the first year of his four-year, $78 million deal, moving him might be tough.
With that said, the Knicks are actively shopping him and he was included in a Donovan Mitchell trade offer earlier in August according to The Athletic’s Shams Charania.
“New York made a recent offer of Evan Fournier, Obi Toppin, additional salary and two unprotected first-round draft picks (five total), league sources tell me and The Athletic’s Tony Jones,” he wrote.
This would appear to indicate that he’s not safe in New York, despite breaking records, so his days as a Knick could be numbered.
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