The 2021-22 NBA season has featured major disappointment for the New York Knicks. There’s no other way around it.
Fresh off a 41-31 season that included a rare playoff appearance, it was easy to be optimistic about the 2021-22 Knicks. They even managed to start their campaign with a 5-1 record – looking every bit the team Knicks fans thought they could be.
The Knicks were clicking on all cylinders in October. They were seemingly building on the foundations of the season prior. Whilst the recruit of free agent Evan Fournier in the off-season too seemed like a shrewd piece of business.
Fournier opened his tenure as a Knick with a commanding 32-point performance against the Boston Celtics on opening night. Against his former team, Fournier went ballistic in the fourth quarter and overtime, guiding the Knicks to victory.
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In doing so, Fournier birthed the painfully brief but wildly entertaining ‘Bing Bong’ era. As jubilant New Yorkers took to the streets and social media to declare that: ‘the Knicks were back.’
Unfortunately, it’s been mostly downhill for both the Knicks and Fournier ever since. With only a couple of games remaining on the schedule, New York has a 36-45 record and has been mathematically ruled out of the post-season.
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Fournier has too proved to be rather inconsistent over the course of the year. The French guard has started in 79 games and is averaging 14.2 points, on 41.9 percent shooting from the floor and 39.2 percent from distance this season.
Fournier has at least improved his trade value somewhat since the deadline, and his three-point shooting has remained positive. He broke the New York Knicks’ single-season record for made 3-pointers last month.
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Yet, his inconsistency on a game-to-game basis has plagued both him and his team. And ultimately, Fournier is probably not worth the four-year, $73 million contract he’s on at the Knicks.
With three years still to run on that deal, and the Knicks seemingly back in no man’s land. Evan Fournier may be a prime candidate to be shipped off this summer. Here are three teams who should monitor a trade for the Knicks guard.
