Report: Evan Fournier not likely to get extension

Evan Fournier is not likely to get an extension by tonight’s deadline, Marc Spears of Yahoo! Sports reports. While unsurprising, it does provide intrigue.

Evan Fournier is not likely to receive an extension by tonight’s deadline and will become a restricted free agent this summer, Marc Spears of Yahoo! Sports reports.

The NBA’s deadline for rookie contract extensions was extended to Nov. 2 with Oct. 31 falling on a weekend. The rookies of the 2012 Draft Class have until midnight tonight to agree to extension or face restricted free agency this summer.

Earlier in the summer, the Magic and Fournier were reportedly in the same neighborhood as far as contract numbers and the two sides were believed to be talking to each other. However, the most recent report ahead of tonight’s deadline would suggest those talks did not move much further forward.

Considering Evan Fournier’s inconsistency throughout his career, and certainly his one-plus season in Orlando, it makes sense for the Magic to let him test the market. Projections on Orlando Magic Daily had him possibly fetching somewhere between $8-10 million per year in a contract.

That might be a price that is too high for the Magic to commit to right now. Especially with Mario Hezonja now on the roster and developing as a rookie and the Magic uncertain of their wing rotation.

Fournier has started the first three games of the year, averaging 14.7 points per game (it would be a career high if he keeps it up) and shooting 39.5 percent from the floor and 26.7 percent from beyond the arc. Like most of the Magic, he is struggling to put the ball in the hoop.

That is most of Fournier’s focus right now rather than his contract future. He said at exit interviews last April that he did not expect to get an extension because only all star players get them. His focus was on his play on the court.

He told Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel following Sunday’s game in Chicago his focus was on his play on the court and not negotiations off it:

"“It’s the last of my worries, to be honest. It’s really the last of my worries right now. I don’t want to have a losing season again. That’s all that matters to me right now. I’m just tired of losing, especially after my rookie year, tasting a little bit of winning with 57 wins. I just want to get that feeling back. That’s all that matters to me right now.”"

It seemed the Magic faced a very difficult decision with Fournier. On one hand, he has been relatively inconsistent with the team — 12.2 points per game, 50.9 percent effective field goal percentage, 12.3 PER with the Magic. He will have hot streaks where he is aggressive and able to hit shots and periods where he disappears.

The first three games have seen him struggle to make shots from the perimeter, but find consistency getting to the basket, where he is still improving as a finisher.

Of course, the Magic are not basing their decision to extend him based on what he is now. It is very much on what he could be.

The risk in letting him enter free agency is that he has a big season and could get priced beyond what the Magic could pay. He could very easily exceed the market value David and I projected for him earlier this year when this issue began to come up.

Of course, he could not and the Magic might still get him for the right price too, like they did with Tobias Harris to some extent.

Letting Fournier hit restrict free agency also keeps Fournier as a valuable trade chip too. Fournier, with an expiring contract and restricted free agency on the horizon, becomes the Magic’s most valuable trade asset. And if Hezonja becomes truly ready to take on a rotation role, Fournier is all of a sudden expendable.

At the end of the day, Fournier has to earn his way onto the team still. There is no doubt about that. He did not seem too worried about his extension or expecting one from the Magic.

Now the negotiations get moved on to July.