Evan Fournier agrees to resign, $85m over 5 years.

[jezzer45]

What he brings on the offensive end trumps his shortcoming on defense. So to measure him up defensively is only highlighting what we all know are his weaknesses.

Evan is still developing so maybe he becomes a really good team defender a la jj.

[arkknight1988]

Evan is going to improve defensively now that he can play the sg spot full time. Just needs to watch some old Manu defensive tapes

[tiderulz]

What he brings on the offensive end trumps his shortcoming on defense. So to measure him up defensively is only highlighting what we all know are his weaknesses.

Evan is still developing so maybe he becomes a really good team defender a la jj.

i never considered JJ a really good team defender. I did consider him not a liability

[drsd]

Interesting to hear Fournier in his Press Conference: "I need to be a vocal leader."

Go Magic!


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[LBPTarHeel27]

Vogel's scheme with Ibaka and BB manning the interior will make Evan (at least appear to be) a better defender.

[pogiro]

Stats may show otherwise, I don't know. But watching Evan play D last year, he's a good defender. We just need to stop putting him on the other team's best player, and transfer those duties to AG, finally.

[fendilim]

Y'all have to realize the problem is not Fournier nor Skiles, the problem last year was our roster.

Skiles was merely playing our best 5. Vuc, Ag, Fournier, Ola and Payton.

Thats why Fournier ends up playing against Durant or Lebron. Because if you switch Ag to guard the best wing player, who ends up guarding the Pf? Vuc guards the C.

[Xatticus]

Y'all have to realize the problem is not Fournier nor Skiles, the problem last year was our roster.

Skiles was merely playing our best 5. Vuc, Ag, Fournier, Ola and Payton.

Thats why Fournier ends up playing against Durant or Lebron. Because if you switch Ag to guard the best wing player, who ends up guarding the Pf? Vuc guards the C.

Regarding Skiles, that is true to some extent. But it takes different skill sets to defend various types of players. Stating that a player isn't versatile isn't really any different than stating that they are a poor defender, particularly at the 2/3 positions that are almost entirely interchangeable. I don't know why so many folks are so apologetic regarding Fournier's defensive responsibilities. I personally would rather have seen Oladipo get some of the tougher assignments regularly, but Skiles was fairly rigid with regard to positions. Skiles basically just had Oladipo cover the player that was listed as the shooting guard. That he was a more capable defender shouldn't actually mitigate the liability of Fournier to defend his assignment. People give him a pass on that end, as if it isn't even a part of his job.

None of this really makes Fournier any more of a two than he is a three. The question is how well the current roster can cover for his deficiencies. We have obviously brought in a couple players that can alter shots and hopefully dissuade aggressive players from driving to the basket, but this doesn't really obviate the need for good perimeter defense. Any time that rotation help is necessary, it creates holes in the defense that a playmaker is going to be able to exploit. Kevin Martin has been an efficient high volume scorer for his entire career, but he is a disaster on the defensive end.

Further, I have concerns about Gordon chasing wings around the perimeter. The addition of Ibaka means that is going to be his defensive role if he is going to play with the first unit, but there is a reason that he has always had the tweener label. He has great length, leaping ability, and straight line speed, but he isn't particularly agile.

We lost, by far, our best defensive wing and we haven't added anyone even remotely close to him in ability at that end of the floor.

[j-ragg]

Just saw France won this morning I think that means they'll go to the Olympics right?

Evan said he was hoping to play with them for that. Would be nice to see Fournier and Mario in there.

[fendilim]

Just saw France won this morning I think that means they'll go to the Olympics right?

Evan said he was hoping to play with them for that. Would be nice to see Fournier and Mario in there.

They have to win another game tomorrow.

[fendilim]

Y'all have to realize the problem is not Fournier nor Skiles, the problem last year was our roster.

Skiles was merely playing our best 5. Vuc, Ag, Fournier, Ola and Payton.

Thats why Fournier ends up playing against Durant or Lebron. Because if you switch Ag to guard the best wing player, who ends up guarding the Pf? Vuc guards the C.

Regarding Skiles, that is true to some extent. But it takes different skill sets to defend various types of players. Stating that a player isn't versatile isn't really any different than stating that they are a poor defender, particularly at the 2/3 positions that are almost entirely interchangeable. I don't know why so many folks are so apologetic regarding Fournier's defensive responsibilities. I personally would rather have seen Oladipo get some of the tougher assignments regularly, but Skiles was fairly rigid with regard to positions. Skiles basically just had Oladipo cover the player that was listed as the shooting guard. That he was a more capable defender shouldn't actually mitigate the liability of Fournier to defend his assignment. People give him a pass on that end, as if it isn't even a part of his job.

None of this really makes Fournier any more of a two than he is a three. The question is how well the current roster can cover for his deficiencies. We have obviously brought in a couple players that can alter shots and hopefully dissuade aggressive players from driving to the basket, but this doesn't really obviate the need for good perimeter defense. Any time that rotation help is necessary, it creates holes in the defense that a playmaker is going to be able to exploit. Kevin Martin has been an efficient high volume scorer for his entire career, but he is a disaster on the defensive end.

Further, I have concerns about Gordon chasing wings around the perimeter. The addition of Ibaka means that is going to be his defensive role if he is going to play with the first unit, but there is a reason that he has always had the tweener label. He has great length, leaping ability, and straight line speed, but he isn't particularly agile.

We lost, by far, our best defensive wing and we haven't added anyone even remotely close to him in ability at that end of the floor.

No, actually the problem with Ola is his height and his reach. He would even have a lesser chance of making it difficult to defend Lebron, Durant, George, Kawhi, etc., because of his height. That's why that task was given to Fournier, neither would stand a chance on stopping these 6'8' superstars, but Evan would at least be able to challenge their shots.

[Xatticus]

No, actually the problem with Ola is his height and his reach. He would even have a lesser chance of making it difficult to defend Lebron, Durant, George, Kawhi, etc., because of his height. That's why that task was given to Fournier, neither would stand a chance on stopping these 6'8' superstars, but Evan would at least be able to challenge their shots.

I don't buy that at all. Players routinely cover other players that are three or four inches taller than they are. Oladipo has a higher listed weight than Fournier and plus length for his height. He was touted as a player that defended four positions well at the collegiate level. On top of all that, you'd be hard-pressed to find anyone that Fournier stacks up favorably against when it comes to challenging shots.

[Dennis Reynolds]

You are saying Fournier is terrible at defense and just hiding behind stats that it appears you only partially understand. Many of us are saying that Fournier is not terrible. He is not great either. I explained why by giving you actual basketball reasons that you can watch on film and understand for yourself. I also stated that Skiles who is known for building good defenses thought he was good. You now say Skiles was terrible at defense and apparently knows nothing about it since he praised Fournier?

It's just funny to me how people think they know more than NBA coaches just by quoting stats. Stats really work if you can also show film illustrating how they correlate. But you can't. Because if you really wanted to put the work in to show yourself the truth about Evan Fournier, you would see that he was an average defender who was asked to do a whole lot while remaining scheme disciplined. Evan Fournier will be fine for us on defense this year. He will have a lot less responsibility.

Please enlighten me on the part of the statistics I do not understand. The basketball reasons you provided are rhetorical rationalizations that every player in the NBA has to deal with. Fournier is 6'7" tall. In the NBA, that means you cover wings. There is literally no position on the floor that he is equipped to defend respectably. His shortcomings are that he is slow and unathletic (also Skiles' shortcomings).

Statistics don't need film to establish correlation. It doesn't work that way. It is a fact that the defense was dramatically better when Fournier wasn't on the floor. In this context, Skiles did build a good defense in Orlando last year whenever Fournier was on the bench.

Career blocks:
Fournier-12
Hezonja-17

Blocks last year as a member of the Magic:
Fournier-2
Jennings-5

I did enlighten you and you clearly did not read closely or understand it. Ill just leave it at that.

I think people have forgotten that Fournier wasn't really a perfect fit for either wing position last year. He played solid D at 2 but wasn't very effective when it comes to scoring. His scoring and efficiency went up when he became SF but his defense was absolutely dreadful there and that's something Vogel will have to figure out.

[fendilim]

No, actually the problem with Ola is his height and his reach. He would even have a lesser chance of making it difficult to defend Lebron, Durant, George, Kawhi, etc., because of his height. That's why that task was given to Fournier, neither would stand a chance on stopping these 6'8' superstars, but Evan would at least be able to challenge their shots.

I don't buy that at all. Players routinely cover other players that are three or four inches taller than they are. Oladipo has a higher listed weight than Fournier and plus length for his height. He was touted as a player that defended four positions well at the collegiate level. On top of all that, you'd be hard-pressed to find anyone that Fournier stacks up favorably against when it comes to challenging shots.

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