As he continues to wait for a trade from the New York Knicks, veteran shooting guard Evan Fournier sat out during France's 90-72 win over Lithuania on Wednesday with a sprained ankle, per The French Basketball Federation. Fournier would sustain the injury during the team's win over Venezuela on Aug. 7., a matchup in which he finished with 13 points, five rebounds, and four assists.
Evan Fournier, qui s'est légèrement foulé la cheville lors du match contre le Venezuela, sera ménagé ce soir face à la Lituanie. Il laisse sa place dans les 12 à Joël Ayayi qui fêtera sa première sélection. #TeamFranceBasket | #PassionnémentBleu | #FIBAWC pic.twitter.com/qcwceDVPDI
— Équipes de France de Basket (@FRABasketball) August 9, 2023
‘Uncool times'
Evan Fournier, a first-round NBA Draft pick in 2012, had grown disgruntled with the New York Knicks last season due to a steadily declining role that culminated in him being removed from the rotation altogether.
“You want to spit on everyone,” a clearly incensed Fournier told Yann Ohnona of L'Equipe in July. “You have hatred.”
“Derrick Rose and I looked at each other and said to each other: ‘What the h— are we doing here?'”
Rose, by the way, left the Knicks as a free agent this summer after New York declined the $15.6 million team option on his contract for the 2023-24 season.
“During the five-on-five practice, [Rose and I] were on the side like some prospects,” Fournier says. “Uncool times.”
Shooting his way out of New York
Evan Fournier's numbers — 6.1 points per game on 33.7 percent shooting from the field and 30.7 percent shooting from 3 — and poor defensive play didn't do him any favors, nor did they justify his angst. Despite a body of work that points to a much more productive player than he was last season, whether 2022-23 was an anomaly or foreshadowed his future, his play wasn't up to his or the team's standard as they looked to make a deep playoff run.
However, it's only natural that he would want to both prove his worth and play for a team where he would be more valued. To that end, Fournier hasn't been biting his tongue about expecting New York to trade him this offseason and frankly, it sounds like he wants them to make such a move as much as he believes it to be a legitimately.
Subsequently, although Fournier has been a constant on France's Senior Team — playing for them since 2014 — the upcoming tournament serves will also serve as a showcase for interested teams.
France's men's national team is now 4-0 in their exhibition games as they prepare for the 2023 FIBA World Cup, with victories over Tunisia (93-36), Montenegro (80-69) and Venezuela (86-67). Over the three games that he's played, Fournier is averaging 12.0 points, 3.0 assists, and 1.7 steals per game while shooting 53.8 percent from 3-point range.
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