Orlando Magic: Re-signing Evan Fournier A Priority?

Evan Fournier is making the Orlando Magic pay for offering him a small contract during the summer.

Earlier this week it was revealed that Evan Fournier received a four-year, $32 million offer from the Orlando Magic before the start of the season to keep him away from restricted free agency next summer. Fournier turned it down, and at the time it was a brave call for a rotation guy to reject guaranteed money for the foreseeable future.

Fournier, however, backed his abilities, just like Tristan Thompson and Jimmy Butler before him, yet he still came into this season not even guaranteed of a starting role on this young Magic team. His play from the start forced not only the fans to sit up and take notice, but for management to insert him into the starting five as well. As a result, he’s spent time both as a shooting guard and small forward this season.

This is a versatility that we’d never seen from the Frenchman before, and it’s helped contribute to the Magic’s decent start to the season. Now, before this campaign began I believed Fournier to be a spark off the bench who could put up points in a hurry, but not much more.

Knowing the team hadn’t locked him down to a long-term deal didn’t bother or surprise me, as he wasn’t quite a part of the core of this team’s future which includes Victor Oladipo, Tobias Harris, Nikola Vucevic, Aaron Gordon and Elfrid Payton. Although we’re only in November, I can see now how wrong I was. Obviously free agency is a long way away, but should re-signing this guy have priority over everything else next summer?

Fournier is leading the Magic in scoring with 19 points per game, easily a career high. The case could be made that he’s a top-five most improved player in this league, certainly a top-10 guy. His Player Efficiency Rating of 16.1 is also a career high, above the league average (15) and easily better than the likes of Oladipo (13.1) and Payton (11.1).

His importance is also shown in the minutes he plays each night (37, with Harris a distant second posting 32.6). Clearly then through the first portion of this season, Fournier has risen to become a real leader for this team. Has he done enough to warrant being a high priority for this team to re-sign next summer?

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The salary cap will once again rise, and there’ll be a steady stream of quality free agents who may look at Orlando and realize it’s a team going places (much like Paul Millsap did this summer before eventually re-signing with the Atlanta Hawks). Is a 23-year-old who is putting up some great numbers on a team that’s still below .500 that important?

For continuity’s sake yes, but in some ways this may all work out perfectly for both team and player. The deal the Magic had offered Fournier before the season started was modest, although not unfair given his production up to that point. Committing that money to him then would have eaten a bit into the cash they’ll be able to spend this summer.

As a restricted free agent, this team can use that money on other players, before hopefully re-signing Fournier at a later date. The real issue arises if another team then comes in with an offer sheet which the Magic would have to match in order to keep Fournier on this team. So in some ways this is like what happened with Harris last summer, in that he was a restricted free agent, but eventually re-signed to a nice deal.

But that’s the issue here. Is Fournier suddenly worth the deal Harris got (four years, $64 million) to keep him on this team? The salary cap is rising alright, but let’s not forget Oladipo and even Payton/Gordon will have to be paid down the road as well. On top of that Vucevic only signed an extension last summer. That’s a lot of money to plunge into a roster with two real talents in Oladipo and Vucevic, but in my mind still no sure-fire superstar in their ranks.

Already we’ve seen how Fournier’s versatility can be important for this team. Slotting in on the wing alongside Oladipo and Payton, who both have had poor offensive nights this season, or playing as a guard for periods in the game as well. He’s shooting 40% from three-point range, and his 54.5% effective field goal percentage is not only a team high, it’s good for 36th in the league.

Clearly then Fournier is taking his chance with both hands and doing many things to give his team a chance to win on a nightly basis (his four rebounds and 2.8 assists while modest are also career highs). But does all of this hot early season form make him suddenly indispensable? In a league were the two guard position isn’t blessed with depth, having a player with Fournier’s skill set is more important than many realize.

So really it depends on what kinds of numbers get thrown around next summer. Already this is looking like a career year for Fournier, but given his young age and considerable experience (this is his fourth year in the league) you have to think he’s only going to continue to get better.

I’d love to see him remain with the Magic beyond this season, and I do realize I’ve had a change of heart since the beginning of the season. I was wrong about how important he could be for this team. Then again, I think most of us were. His improvements have come out of nowhere and head coach Scott Skiles deserves credit for trusting in his abilities.

But with so many teams having serious cash to throw around, if a Harris-like deal came in for the guy, I’d also understand if the team let him go. Not because he wouldn’t deserve it, but because there are many young and talented mouths to feed on this roster. The thought of luring a star player to this team also must be considered. After all, this organization suddenly has quite a lot going for it.

That versatility that I keep mentioning is massively important. It’s how a team like the Golden State Warriors find ways to beat all manner of opponents night after night. Fournier is fast becoming a player for all kinds of situations, and his effectiveness with the ball is key for what is still only an average offensive team (100.6 points per game scored, 16th in the league).

So while I’m delighted Fournier backed himself and will likely be paid accordingly, it would have been fantastic to lock him down to a long-term deal for such a small amount of money. They didn’t however, and at this early stage, given all that he is doing for this team, re-signing Evan Fournier must be near the top of the to-do list for next summer. Unless Kevin Durant suddenly decides he wants to live in Florida, that is.