French Coach Vincent Collet Calls for New York Knicks to Trade Evan Fournier
France men's national basketball team head coach Vincent Collet has had enough of Evan Fournier's mandated holiday.
Count Collet among the many shocked to see Fournier linger on the New York Knicks' roster, as the French-born continues to be exiled from the metropolitan rotation. Fournier began last season as the Knicks' primary shooting guard but lost the role to Quentin Grimes in the early stages.
"What I want is for him to be able to change location to be able to play again. But that's unfortunately not us who have the keys. It's obviously complicated," Collet said in an interview on beIN Sports' NBA Extra (h/t RMC Sport). "The size of his contract, in this case, that's not an advantage. It's obvious that franchises would be ready to welcome him, but certainly not under these conditions."
Fournier (L) competes for France
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"His situation in New York will not change, Tom Thibodeau announced it. He played because there were absentees, but he won't play. He should be able to leave."
The contract that Collet refers to is an $18.9 cap hit that Fournier has been getting to sit courtside at Madison Square Garden every night. He has a $19 million player option for the 2024-25 season but there's no reason to believe the Knicks would ever consider picking it up.
Since then, Fournier has had major trouble gaining entry into the Knicks' lineup: he has appeared in just one game this season, last Friday's win in Washington, and was immediately placed on the injured list with ankle inflammation.
It was clear that Fournier's appearance was a mere side effect of injuries to Grimes and RJ Barrett: head coach Tom Thibodeau has emptied the bench on several occasions this season (all but five of the Knicks' 14 games have been decided by less than nine points) but Fournier has been limited to his cameo in the nation's capital, where he was 1-of-6 from the field in 16 minutes.
Collet might have a bit of a personal stake in the matter: Fournier is set to be a major component of France's run at the 2024 Summer Olympics, which are set to be held in Paris. Having a cold Fournier on the bench would certainly be far from ideal, especially considering Les Bleus' disappointing run at the FIBA Basketball World Cup over the summer.
Fournier returned to Knicks practice on Wednesday after not dressing for the past two games, per Fred Katz of The Athletic. He and the Knicks (8-6) return to action on Friday night against the Miami Heat at Madison Square Garden (7:30 p.m. ET, MSG/ESPN).
