Getty Evan Fournier of the New York Knicks walks on the court during introductions before taking on the Philadelphia 76ers.
This first quarter of the 2022-23 campaign has seen a bevy of rumors and other rumblings befall New York Knicks guard, Evan Fournier, with the primary tone of such bits being rather negative.
For many, losing one’s spot in their team’s rotation and being the subject of constant trade buzz may prove to be quite challenging however, for the 11-year veteran, it appears as though he’s remained upbeat and open-minded about the whole process.
At least, that’s the type of tone that he seems to have established for himself with his public showings throughout the season so far, and, just recently, he was found adding to this self-crafted image.
On December 5, Fournier posted on his personal Instagram account a picture of him running up the court at Madison Square Garden with the caption “It’s a marathon, kid. Push through it.”
After having started the first seven games of his second season with the New York Knicks, Evan Fournier has seen his standing within Tom Thibodeau’s rotation fall from a low-usage reserve player to, now, being completely out of the game plan and has seen 11-straight DNPs.
Before being shelved back on November 13, the 30-year-old found himself amid easily the worst season of his career, as he was posting lackluster averages of 6.9 points, 2.1 rebounds, and 1.7 assists on 34.4% shooting from the floor.
Despite these hardships, Fournier remains present and active on the sidelines during outings and has continued to preach positivity and understanding by means of media sessions and, like in this case, social media.
Knicks Willing to Include Assets to Dump Fournier
Though he has been the subject of trade rumors throughout these early stages of the season, it appears that, in recent days, Leon Rose and company have been ramping up their efforts to offload Evan Fournier and the remaining three years of his $72 million contract.
According to a December 7 report by The Athletic’s Fred Katz, the Knicks have been working the phones as of late with intentions of finding a suitor for their highly-priced wing, and are now open to attaching guys like Immanuel Quickley and Cam Reddish into a trade package to serve as a sweetener in a potential deal.
The Knicks are willing to attach Immanuel Quickley or Cam Reddish to Evan Fournier to make a trade work, per @FredKatz
An impressive spark-plug guard talent who boasts career averages of 11.2 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 2.9 assists on 35.8% shooting from the floor, Quickley has been rumored to be available in trade talks for the right price and it has even been reported that the Knicks have already received calls by interested organizations inquiring about his availability.
Reddish, though not as highly sought after, is still an intriguing trade asset for opposing teams looking for fresh new talents, as he’s still just four years removed from being selected 10th overall in the 2019 NBA Draft and has the size (6-foot-7 with a 7-foot-1 wingspan) and skills to develop into a quality two-way wing in this league.
Knicks Could Hire Kenny Atkinson
Should the New York Knicks opt to part ways with Tom Thibodeau, an anonymous executive recently told Heavy Sports’ NBA Insider Sean Deveney that current Golden State Warriors assistant Kenny Atkinson could prove to be the frontrunner to be the team’s next head coach.
“They liked (Kenny) Atkinson a lot when they went through the process last time (in 2020) so I’d expect him to be at the top of the list,” the executive told Deveney.
Kenny Atkinson had a reputation for player development.
Known as a highly-skilled developmental mind, considering the incredibly young and raw collection of talents the Knicks currently roster, Atkinson could serve as a much-needed culture-shifting presence for the ball club and would be a direct contrast to Thibodeau’s well-established “win now” coaching approach.
However, if the franchise were to actually make a coaching shakeup, the executive noted that it’s likely that no moves would be made until after the conclusion of this year’s campaign.