Orlando Magic Daily Mailbag Volume 21: The winds of change
thinking more and more that maybe Fournier should be traded???
— Last Word On Magic (@LWOS_Magic) February 5, 2017
You are not the only person to wonder this. It would not surprise me if the Magic are having some buyer’s remorse or are just curious what Evan Fournier could get them.
By buyer’s remorse, I do not mean the Magic regret signing Evan Fournier to the five-year, $85-million. Hennigan said Tuesday at the trade press conference, he probably would make the same decision trading Victor Oladipo.
Fournier is having a career scoring year. He is averaging 16.8 points per game, but his efficiency has gone down dramatically. He is shooting 43.5 percent from the floor and 34.3 percent from beyond the arc. He has a career-high 2.3 turnovers per game.
The Magic have given Fournier more responsibility and more playmaking duties — his assists are up to a career-best 3.4 per game too. But he has clearly struggled in that role. That is probably not where he needs to be to be the most successful.
Whenever a player is not quite in the right role, that makes them ripe for trade discussion. And he is a big salary. So to take on a big salary, you have to give up a big salary. That is the situation for Fournier.
If the Magic can bring in better players and get Fournier into a tertiary scoring role or more as a spot-up shooter and driver off ball reversals (like last year), that will make him more successful.
The Magic do not HAVE to trade Evan Fournier right now. He has not had a bad season. His issues this year are more a product of the team’s poor roster construction. But they should still be exploring his value.