Orlando Magic: Grading Evan Fournier’s 2019-20 NBA season

ATLANTA, GEORGIA - FEBRUARY 26: Evan Fournier #10 of the Orlando Magic reacts after drawing a foul against Cam Reddish #22 of the Atlanta Hawks in the second half at State Farm Arena on February 26, 2020 in Atlanta, Georgia. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
ATLANTA, GEORGIA - FEBRUARY 26: Evan Fournier #10 of the Orlando Magic reacts after drawing a foul against Cam Reddish #22 of the Atlanta Hawks in the second half at State Farm Arena on February 26, 2020 in Atlanta, Georgia. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
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Orlando Magic
Orlando Magic (Photo by Ronald Cortes/Getty Images)

The Orlando Magic needed improvement from within to continue growing in 2019-20, but they didn’t get that very often from Evan Fournier.

The Orlando Magic finished the 2019-20 season in the NBA‘s bubble in Florida, with a second trip to the playoffs in two years ending in five games at the hands of the Milwaukee Bucks. A tepid end to their campaign.

Unlike the previous year, however, the joy of simply getting back to that point was tinged by a number of factors that took the feel-good element away from the organization. Injuries to key players were the most glaring, but it ran deeper than that.

The uncomfortable truth is that the Magic were unable to build on the year before, with their key contributors mostly failing to build on their already established play. For a franchise that is locked into this core group of players for some time yet, this was a worrying development.

Evan Fournier, by season’s end, had come to personify this stagnation, as has often been the case in the past as well. He was far from alone in that respect, and if there is one common theme that runs through most of the senior guys on the roster currently, it is the fact that they have either hit their ceiling or are struggling to get there.

Fournier is still a very necessary player for the Magic when he’s got it going though, and with a player option for next season that he would be crazy to decline unless he knows of more long-term commitment coming from the Magic, fans should expect him to stick around for a while yet. Coming off of a strong showing at the FIBA World Cup last summer, however, what came next felt underwhelming.