Evan Fournier hopeful to remain with Orlando Magic
Evan Fournier is sitting out the early part of training camp with a sprained ankle. He figures to be important and hopes to have an extension worked out.
Evan Fournier did not have much time to get his legs under him when he got back from France and a third-place finish at Eurobasket.
Well, he did not have much of the ability to get his legs under him at all after spraining his ankle in the opening moments of that bronze medal game. That injury will knock him out of practice for at least a few weeks as the Magic elect to let him rest and recover after the high-intensity games of that international tournament.
Now that he is back with the Magic, his focus has turned back to his club team.
What the future holds? That is another question entirely.
Fournier is set to become a restricted free agent this summer as his rookie contract expires unless he and the team come to an agreement on an extension. The deadline is Oct. 31 to reach an agreement.
During the summer, there were a few rumors the team had talked to his representatives about an extension. Those conversations appear to be continuing as the calendar turns toward one month before the deadline.
Fournier though has not had much time to think about it. He arrived in Orlando a few days before media day and is working to get acclimated to the new group with the Magic before he can get on the floor. His agent is handling any initial or continuing negotiations on that front while Fourneir kept his focus on the court and on his national team duties.
While the contract stuff is out of his hands at the moment, Fournier would like to remain in Orlando if it can get done.
“It would be awesome,” Fournier said. “But to be honest, I don’t even think about it. It’s not in my power. It’s not in my hands. I’m focused on being healthy and getting back onto the court.”
The final games — a depressing loss to Spain in overtime during the semifinal and then the injury in the bronze medal game — were a bit of a let down after an emotional few weeks in front of the home fans in France.
“The arena and playing in front of our fans was unreal,” Fournier said of the experience. “Twenty-seven thousand people, it was fantastic. Losing against Spain in the semifinal was hard. It was really hard to take.”
Fournier is waiting again, it would seem.
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His first season with the Magic was an up-and-down affair. He started the season strong after Victor Oladipo went down with an injury. He was playing well before an injury knocked him out for the majority of the last half of the season. It was his first real injury in his career.
The positive momentum of his offseason — where he played also for France at the FIBA World Cup — was halted pretty quickly. He said he hopes the momentum from his play at Eurobasket will carry forward into the upcoming season.
“It’s true, it was a winning experience,” Fournier said. “We only lost one game. That’s the crazy thing. Spain, who won the tournament, lost two games. It’s about winning when it matters. That’s what was hard.
“It gives you confidence for the season. I don’t think it’s random that last year I had a very good beginning of the season.”
The question for Fournier now as he enter this upcoming season is what lies in his future.
The Magic figure to use Fournier in something of a Sixth Man role, competing perhaps for playing time with Mario Hezonja. The injury is not a set back to that since Fournier already had spent much of the summer staying ready for high-level competition.
Where the intrigue comes in is what it means for Fournier’s summer. That is where his value and what the Magic do might get a little cloudier.