Orlando Magic: Could Evan Fournier play point guard?
By Luke Duffy
With increased depth and more versatility than ever before, could Evan Fournier play some point guard for the Orlando Magic this season?
This year more than any in recent memory, improving roster flexibility should be the name of the game for the Orlando Magic. They’ve watched as most other rosters have created the kind of versatility to game plan for various opponents, while struggling to do so themselves.
All that looks set to change however, as the Magic went out and got some veteran players, as well as an already promising rookie, this summer. What that will mean is new lineup combinations and more tinkering from head coach Frank Vogel throughout the season.
In an age of largely position-less basketball, no suggestion should be turned away as foolish. With that in mind, could Evan Fournier spend some time at the point guard position this year?
On the surface, there’s little to not like about Fournier potentially spending time as the floor general for this team. He’s moderately sized at the small forward spot at 6’7″, although he’s spent most of his career at the shooting guard position anyway.
A transition to being the lead guard is unlikely to yield James Harden-levels of success both individually and for the team, but it’s still worth looking into for a couple of key reasons.
If Fournier could be this team’s point guard for stretches of the game, they could put out a lineup like Fournier, Terrence Ross, Jonathon Simmons, Aaron Gordon and Nikola Vucevic.
That five looks as capable of defending players (Simmons, hopefully Gordon) as it does putting up points in a hurry (Fournier, Ross, Vucevic).
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Even better, depending on the opponent, the Magic could insert shiny new rookie Jonathan Isaac in there instead of Simmons or Gordon, and Bismack Biyombo instead of Vucevic for rim protection.
It’s exciting to think about, and it all becomes possible if Fournier plays some minutes as a point guard.
Interestingly, Fournier had a higher usage rate last season (23.5 percent) than current starting point guard Elfrid Payton (21.6).
So it’s not like he’d need the ball a lot more either. Fournier did only average 3.0 assists per game last season (Payton averaged 6.5), but that was a career high for him.
Obviously that number would have to improve, but Fournier needed to be this team’s go-to scorer last year, and he was up to the challenge as he led the team with 17.2 points per game.
He’ll need to score this season of course, but the burden doesn’t fall squarely on his shoulders anymore.
In limited preseason play, Gordon has shown a nice stroke, along with Isaac. Ross is always going to get you points and he averaged 12.4 per game in only 24 appearances for the team last season.
That ended up being the third-highest mark for the Magic by season’s end, and considering he came over from the Toronto Raptors just before the trade deadline, that tells you all you need to know.
Fournier might not be the defender Payton is (although his own abilities defensively are often overhyped), but being taller and quick himself, he can make things difficult for opposing guards.
If anything it would confuse opponents as well, as Simmons could guard the team’s best player, with Fournier and Ross alternating between the other two.
Given that Payton’s future with the team at the moment is unclear, he has yet to sign an early extension. Perhaps Fournier can be an alternative solution? At the very least, it would appear to give this team another layer of flexibility that may not have been immediately clear.
The potential drawbacks to making a move like this? Fournier isn’t a natural playmaker, and although he can pass the ball well, the team would suffer.
It may also be forcing things somewhat to have a clearly gifted scorer looking to set other people up as well.
The Magic ranked 29th in 3-point percentage last season (32.8 percent) and having Fournier, a career 37.9 percent long distance shooter, taking any less of those would be a problem.
Despite all that, however, it still looks like a worthwhile experiment. Even if it just frees up additional minutes for Isaac to come in and contribute, it could be a real positive.
Shelvin Mack, the team’s backup point guard, may not be too happy about this development, but he still has his importance in other lineups as well.
Next: Ranking all 30 starting NBA shooting guards for 2017-18
All of which is to say that Evan Fournier already does a lot for the Orlando Magic but perhaps this season, he will be able to bring an entirely different element to this team.