Despite having a long NBA career, Evan Fournier, a former forward for the Celtics, is moving abroad. According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, Fournier will be joining Greek team Olympiacos on a two-year contract as part of the EuroLeague.
Fournier is coming off a strong performance with France, which included leading them to the silver medal on home soil during the Olympics in Paris. Given that Fournier, 31, has been up and down the league in recent seasons, his decision to sign overseas isn’t entirely shocking. After being acquired at the trade deadline, Fournier spent a brief period of time with the Celtics to close off the 2020–21 campaign. While in Boston, he participated in 16 games (11 starts) and averaged 13.0 points, 3.3 assists, and 3.1 rebounds per contest. Moreover, Fournier made one appearance for the C’s against the Nets in the 2021 playoffs.
Fournier signed a sign-and-trade deal with the Knicks in the 2021 summer, declining the Celtics’ offer to re-sign him. Instead, in order to establish a traded player exemption, the C’s exported two second-round selections. Due to their roster makeup (which included the Malcolm Brogdon trade at the time), the front staff decided not to use the TPE. In the end, though, it was beneficial for the Celtics in the long run.
Fournier spent the bulk of his NBA career with the Magic, where he saw the most success from 2014 to 21. During 435 games, he averaged 16.2 points per game and was a consistent scorer. The Nuggets, Fournier’s first NBA franchise, selected him with the 20th overall pick in the 2012 NBA Draft.
However, Fournier’s influence in the NBA has been diminishing ever since he left the Knicks. During the previous season, he was traded to the Pistons after falling out of the New York rotation. Prior to playing 29 games with the Pistons to end the 2023–24 season, Fournier had only appeared in three Knicks games. Hence, Fournier made the decision to move abroad and contribute somewhere else rather than playing as a bench player throughout the NBA.
