Orlando Magic: 3 goals for Evan Fournier in 2018-19

1. Establish veteran leadership

This could be Fournier’s biggest role within Orlando this season. With his name constantly swirling in trade rumors, despite being Orlando’s best offensive weapon the past few seasons, Fournier is a volatile asset yet a very important piece to Orlando’s success. His leadership this season could affect how this team plays.

As currently constructed, the Magic are a very young team with an average age of 24.7. Fournier, along with Aaron Gordon, is the second-longest tenured member of the Orlando franchise. Both are also the two highest-paid players on the team.

Along with Nikola Vucevic, (if he is still with the team) the young guns like Mohamed Bamba, Jonathan Isaac, Melvin Frazier Jr., Justin Jackson, Wesley Iwundu and more will look to these three guys for leadership.

As guys like Gordon and Isaac look to be taking over more of the weight this season, Fournier’s role as go-to scorer will probably take a bit of a backseat. It has to be a little disheartening for players like Fournier to constantly be in the trade talks, but losing a prized “go-to guy” role could hurt even more.

Fournier, by all accounts, is a nice guy, a hard worker and an outspoken, team-first player. If he takes on a strong leadership role this season, it would greatly benefit the Magic’s young players moving forward.

In his four years in Orlando, Fournier has now played under five coaches. Steve Clifford is a capable, confident coach, but even he will need help from the veterans on the squad. Fournier knows how to improve every year given that he has upped his scoring totals each season since he first joined the league.

He can help speed up the development of Bamba or Isaac or Frazier by showing them the professional ropes and putting in the work. Look for Evan Fournier to be a vocal leader this season and use his veteran knowledge to teach.