Evan Fournier

In August of 2021, Fournier agreed to a hefty four-year, $78 million contract with the Knicks. This occurred after an eventful 2020-21 season which started in Orlando, paused in Boston after a trade-deadline move and ended with a strong Olympic run with Team France. Fournier was cruising through another typically productive season with the Magic and was on pace to set a new career-high in points per game (19.7) before he was dealt to Boston. With the Celtics, the shooting guard appeared in only 16 of 28 regular season games due to COVID-19 protocols. The Knicks entered the off-season with tons of cap space and a need to add backcourt scoring. With the additions of Fournier and Kemba Walker, New York seemingly has cured that issue. Expect Fournier to play north of 30 minutes per game, as coach Tom Thibodeau loves to give his starters extended run. The 29-year-old should receive plenty of catch-and-shoot opportunities with Walker and Julius Randle controlling most of the ball-handling. When Walker sits (he missed 45 out of 144 games over the last two seasons), Fournier will battle veteran Derrick Rose and third-year guard RJ Barrett as the second scoring option after Randle. The Frenchman will also look to build off of last year's three-point shooting, when he hit a career-high 2.8 threes per game and shot a career-best 41.3 percent from behind the arc. The risk with Fournier will be Thibodeau's patience with the shooting guard's mediocre defense, though he did grab 1.1 steals per game last year. Presumably, Fournier's ability to spread the floor on the offensive end will more than make up for his defensive woes.