Back on draft day, the Orlando Magic dealt their best player, guard Arron Afflalo back to the Denver Nuggets in exchange for guard Evan Fournier and a second round pick, which wound up being former Iowa Hawkeyes’ guard Roy Devyn Marble. Fournier is hopeful he can play a big role for a young Magic squad.
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Nate Duncan of Basketball Insiders thinks Fournier needs to carve out a role ahead of veterans like Ben Gordon this year or he could be in trouble.
"It’s interesting that you mention FIBA play, because he barely played before the game you’re talking about. That unfortunately has been the pattern in his career–his playing time really waxes and wanes and he hasn’t found a coach who really trusts him yet. You’ll remember that he even started for Denver in that 2013 Warriors series, although he didn’t ultimately play much. He took a bit of a step back last year, but a lot of that was based on his two-point percentage which can fluctuate a lot in the limited minutes he played.I agree with you that Orlando will really need his shooting to stretch the floor, and they should have enough perimeter defense that they should be able to hide him a bit on that end if needed. Hopefully this is the year he breaks out a bit. If you see Ben Gordon playing over him for a Magic team that is going nowhere this year, that would be a bad sign."
Fournier averaged 8.4 points, 2.7 rebounds and 1.5 assists while shooting 41.9% from the field, 37.6% from beyond the arc and 75.6% from the free throw line. In his two-year career, the 20th-overall selection in the first round of the 2012 NBA Draft has put up 7.4 points, 2.1 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game while shooting 43.5% from the floor, 38.1% from three and 75.9% from the charity stripe.
Need more on the FIBA World Cup? Check out FanSided’s official FIBA World Cup page. Be sure to check FanSided’s official NBA page to keep up to date on the latest news and rumors from around the league all summer long.
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