Orlando Magic: Evan Fournier Making A Lasting Impression

The Orlando Magic are relying heavily on shooting guard Evan Fournier to provide perimeter scoring next season.

Fortunately for Orlando Magic guard Evan Fournier, his new coach has a drastically different recollection of their first encounter.

According to Fournier, the first workout he conducted for an NBA team after submitting his name into the 2012 NBA Draft was for the Indiana Pacers and coach Frank Vogel.

The performance was far from ideal, at least the way guard out of France remembers it.

"“My first workout, pre-draft, was with the Pacers,” Fournier said following Saturday’s practice session. “I was awful, I played awful. When I first heard that he was coming here, I was like, oh, please don’t remember that workout. We haven’t talked about it since. That was the first time he saw me play.”"

Vogel came away with a different first impression of the 6-foot-7 guard out of France.

"“I remember the workout, I don’t remember him being awful,” Vogel said. “I didn’t know that was his first American workout. I thought he looked pretty good and I thought, I hope to coach him someday”."

Five years later, both the player and coach enter the 2016-17 with high expectations from a franchise that hasn’t qualified for the post season in four years.

A month after hiring Vogel, the Magic traded guard Victor Oladipo, the second overall pick of the 2013 NBA Draft. In return, the team landed Serge Ibaka, a vital piece to the defensive identify Vogel hopes to instill during his debut season with the team.

The trade of Oladipo allowed Fournier to shift from small forward to shooting guard, his more natural position.

Any speculation about his future with the organization was immediately put to rest.

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Orlando signed Fournier to a five-year, $85 million extension hours after free agency began last season, proving there were no lingering doubts from Vogel from the pre-draft workout years ago.

The team is hoping Fournier can continue to find the success he had to close out last season. Following the All-Star break, Fournier averaged 17.9 points on 49 percent shooting from the field and 40.3 percent shooting from beyond the arc.

Four of the top seven long-range shooters from the Magic last season are no longer on the roster.

The 156 shots from 3-point range converted by Fournier are more than double the amount of anyone made last year on the roster.

Orlando will need Fournier to convert from long range, but he has worked on a different aspect of the game prior to the start of the regular season.

"“The thing I tried to do a little bit in preseason was probably (my) mid-range,” Fournier said. “I don’t take that many shots usually, maybe one or two. i really worked on it this summer, so I thought was really good. We’ll see during the regular season what the defense gives me.”"

The mid-range game became a focal point for Fournier after he struggled to convert last season.

Fournier attempted 96 shots from between 16-feet away from the rim and inside of the 3-point arc, but made just 31.2 percent of those attempts, by far his lowest shooting zone percentage.

The work he has put in over the summer has been evident early on for the Magic.

Fournier appeared in six preseason games and averaged a team-high 18 points on 47 percent shooting from the field.

The mid-range shooting of Fournier provides a dynamic Orlando desperately needs on the offensive end.

"“A lot of the bigs in this league will drop back all the way to the paint in the pick-and-roll,” Vogel said. “The mid-range game is important and he’s really good at it.”"

The Magic bucked the trend of small ball, adding Bismack Biyombo to the combination of Ibaka and center Nikola Vucevic.

Scoring has been an issue at times for the Magic, as the team averaged 98.7 points per game, 3.1 fewer than their pace from last season.

The struggles are to be expected, as the addition of Vogel and eight new players to the 15-man roster needs time to establish some familiarity.

Luckily for Fournier, the Magic are well aware of the impact he can make, including the coach he thought he disappointed a long time ago.

Next: 2016 NBA Offseason Grades For All 30 Teams

"“He’s a really, really positive coach,” Fournier said. “I see a lot of potential, I really do. Now it’s up to us as players to create good habits, winning habits.”"

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Evan Fournier Making A Lasting Impression On Orlando Magic

By Brendan Galella | Oct 23, 2016

The Orlando Magic are relying heavily on shooting guard Evan Fournier to provide perimeter scoring next season.