Home » News » Why 85 million were “enough” for Evan Fournier (Orlando) – NBA

Why 85 million were “enough” for Evan Fournier (Orlando) – NBA

Evan Fournier (2 m, 23 years old), could he have touched even more money than the already astronomical sum of 85 million dollars over five years for which he signed on Friday with Orlando? After the announcement of the extension of the international winger of the Magic, several American observers drew attention to an amount “far from the maximum that Fournier could claim».

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Translation: the former Poitevin will receive, from next season, 17 million dollars per year, but could in theory have exceeded the bar of twenty. What several franchises were ready to offer to the top French scorer in the NBA this season (14.9 points per game), as confirmed by his agent Bouna Ndiaye, without citing the teams concerned.

“Restricted” free agent, Fournier had the option of waiting for proposals from other teams, knowing that Orlando would always have the option of lining up, or letting him go. So why did you sign so quickly? And not having tried to raise the stakes?

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«Three teams offered us the maximum, breathes Ndiaye. But franchises that did not interest us, that do not have the means to earn. Evan refused immediately. He doesn’t want to go anywhere just for the money. Afterwards, you can always have more… But people talk without having mastered all the parameters. First, Evan has a strong desire to go to the Olympic Games in Rio, if the France team qualifies and he has the chance to be recalled. But if he signed around July 15-20, that dream was over … Then, I don’t want to trivialize what is happening in the NBA, but the sums are enormous, almost ridiculous. Winning 17 or 20 million, after a while, it doesn’t change much, it no longer makes sense. After all becomes a matter of ego. You take what there is to take instead of thinking about where you are going and why.»

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Another concrete reason for the acceleration of negotiations: the Orlando Magic, in one of its first movements of the offseason, sent one of its stars, point guard Victor Oladipo, to Oklahoma City in exchange by Serge Ibaka. The effect of this exchange? He singularly cooled off a number of teams who were interested in Fournier, and interpreted it as a sign that Orlando could no longer let the French go.

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“Obviously, we could have dragged”

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«All the teams thought it was dead, confirms Ndiaye. That they were going to serve as hares, to offer something without any real chance of succeeding in enlisting the player. If Oladipo had stayed, we would have “played” a bit, we would have gone to the highest bidder and competitive, in a big team, and we would have let Orlando decide whether or not to line up.“The managers of Orlando are not totally off the mark, not as much in any case, as last year, when they had offered Fournier 32 million over four years, then refused to negotiate to lock the player at a lower cost, this time they were able to turn the situation to their advantage.

They offered a deal accordingly, at “only” $ 85 million over five years. “Obviously, we could have dragged, concludes Ndiaye. But the moment you want a quick deal, you have to compromise. We are completely satisfied with the outcome of the negotiations. And Evan has an exit clause at the end of the fourth year.“Remember, however, that Fournier’s contract remains, by far, the highest ever touched by a French player in the NBA at the end of his first pro contract in the North American league.

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