Orlando Magic: Should they consider trading Evan Fournier?

The Orlando Magic need to make some changes to bring the faltering franchise back to life. Could trading Evan Fournier be one of them?

Having reached the halfway point of this season, the Orlando Magic are in an even worse place than most predicted them to be. Despite bullish preseason talk from some of their players that they could make the playoffs, they have been even worse than predicted.

The Magic have won just six games since Nov. 2, and have seen their offensive and defensive ratings continue to slide. With a high lottery pick once again coming their way, it is clear more changes need to be made to ensure next season doesn’t peter out as depressingly as this one has.

The fact this is even being spoken about in mid-January tells you all you need to know about how poor this campaign — the first with modest expectations in years — has gone.

One avenue potentially worth exploring, and which apparently already has been, is trading guard Evan Fournier for some new and exciting talent.

The team clearly needs to change something moving forward, but is getting rid of Fournier the answer, or is it the kind of panic move that has defined their big trades in recent years?

Before looking at whether Fournier should be moved, however, fans should be thankful that former general manager Rob Hennigan is gone and won’t be overseeing any moves like this.

Hennigan has already given away talent for a poor return in the past, and knowing new GM John Hammond is in charge now already puts the team in a better position than before.

If we assume the team is shopping Fournier, there are two routes they can take with what they get in return: established talent or a first round draft pick. There are issues with both, however, and really this is why the Magic should be cautious about any deal they do make.

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There has been chatter that the Detroit Pistons offered Reggie Jackson (and potentially rookie Luke Kennard) in exchange for Fournier, per ESPN‘s Adrian Wojnarowski. Other additional pieces/contracts would possibly have to be added to make this work, but that would be the centerpiece of any deal.

In theory, this is ideal. Point guard Elfrid Payton is a restricted free agent in the summer, and it is unclear if the Magic see him as their floor general for the long-term. Kennard would also help a Magic team that currently rank 25th in offensive rating (103.1) and 21st in 3-point shooting (35.7 percent).

But the bigger issue is that the team would be swapping a player who works well as a second or third option for a playoff team, with somebody like Jackson who comes under the same category.

Really, this is the issue with moving Fournier at all. You’re not going to get a player to build around, so why bother moving sideways?

In Jackson’s case, the team would be actually be gaining money to remain in a similar position too. Fournier will make $17 million next season, while Jackson will take home just over $18 million.

You would think, then, that taking a first round draft pick in return would be more in line with where they’re at right now. But the team has its own lottery pick coming, and in Aaron Gordon and Jonathan Isaac, already has two young players with promising careers ahead of them.

This is not a 76ers style tank. #Magic are going to build with Gordon, Isaac and the draft pick moving forward. You need to strive to win when you can. Winning is still valuable to this group. Some will stay.
— Orlando Magic Daily (@OMagicDaily) January 10, 2018

If the Magic could nab a dynamic guard with their own pick (which continues to rise as they lose games), in theory their core would be set for the next couple of years before evaluating how they’ve done.

Fournier would thrive on a team like that, a great complementary piece to what the Magic will hopefully have going on by then. He may be hearing his name brought up in potential trades, but Fournier is still having the best season of his career.

Right now he is averaging career highs in points (17.8 per game), rebounds (3.3 per game), free throw percentage (a team-high 88.8 percent), Player Efficiency Rating (15.6) and Player Impact Estimate (9.1).

Which brings us on to the main reason the Magic shouldn’t get rid of Fournier, at least not yet.

All numbers point towards a player who is only improving (at least on the offensive end) and should hopefully continue to do so.

Given that he is under contract right up until the turn of the decade, the team is under no obligation to trade him either. This would represent a panic move, the team feeling the need to shake things up just because this season has not gone according to plan.

What they need to remember though, is that they did the same thing with Tobias Harris before, ironically enough, with the Pistons as well. What they’d give to have him back now!

With their season going nowhere, the Orlando Magic need to keep what they’ve got going in. At least until the end of the season.

This may be one of the most brutal stretches of their prolonged rebuild, especially as they seemed primed to take the next step in their redevelopment after the 8-4 start.

Next: 2017-18 Week 13 NBA Power Rankings

That hasn’t happened, but it is not all on Evan Fournier’s shoulders either. All they can get in return is a chance at more youth or a player of similar stature, so why do anything at all?

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