Evan Fournier is unhappy with the New York Knicks and has made his intentions clear that he wants to leave the franchise ahead of the new NBA season. The Frenchman has shared that he feels like a hostage after he was removed from the team’s rotation last November.
The guard is actively looking to revive his career away from New York. While he is looking to get more minutes, he will be content with a handful of them every game. He highlighted how the city and the team isn’t an issue but not playing is a big concern for him. He loves the city but wants more game time for which he is looking to move out.
“I’m still in New York at the moment,” Fournier said. “I want to leave. But beyond leaving, I want to have the opportunity to get some playing time back. That’s all. That’s mostly it. Because in New York, I feel extremely good. I love living there, I love the franchise, I love playing at Madison [Square Garden], I love the guys on the team.”
The franchise has pushed him to the edge. So much so that Fournier is forced to look away and search for a team where he will get regular minutes. “So I just want to play, that’s all. It’s true that finding another club, changing franchises, if that’s what you have to do to play again, that’s what I would like to do,” he added.
The Knicks fell short against the Miami Heat in the playoffs and soon after that Fournier wanted to move out. He even told the media about his decision to leave as he was on the sidelines for most of the season. However, the Knicks are yet to take a call on the Frenchman who is on a who is on an expiring $18.9 million contract that makes him a trade asset in case any trade comes their way.
However, Fournier has clearly stated that he is held by the franchise beyond his will as his primary requirement is to get playing minutes. But he isn’t getting that and they are also not moving him to another franchise and he feels that the Knicks are holding him as a hostage.
“If I knew, for example, that the coach was going to give me 10-15 minutes here and there, I know that I could make the most of it and grab minutes gradually and perform well. But that’s not even the case. I don’t have the opportunity to play and even worse, I feel like I’m being held hostage. I hope this situation will resolve itself and I especially hope that the Knicks will give me a chance,” Fournier said.
This past season, he averaged 6.1 points, 1.8 rebounds, and 1.3 assists from just 27 games. He deserves to get gametime, be it at New York or for some other team. But only time will tell where Fournier ends up this season.
