NBA
All-Star Center Nikola Vucevic Sympathizes For Former Teammate Evan Fournier
Zach Wolpin is an NBA and NFL expert who's been betting on the league for over three years now. Wolpin has been a fan of the NBA and has been watching for a decade and a half. He covers the latest news and stories surrounding the league daily. His passion in life is watching sports and being able to share that through his sports writing. He has written about the NBA and other sports leagues through various media outlets over the years like Sir Charles In Charge, G-Men HQ, and TAP into South Plainfield. Before he became an NBA News Writer, Wolpin attended Montclair State University where he graduated in 2021. He studied Sports Media and Writing while in school.
All posts by Zach WolpinUpdated16 Dec 2022
The New York Knicks have been trending upwards lately. They are on a five-game win streak and have also won six of their last ten games. New York are fourth in the Atlantic Division and sixth in the Eastern Conference. Tom Thibodeau has changed the Knicks rotation around this season and certain players have faded out of the lineup. Bulls center Nikola Vucevic sympathizes for one of New York’s players who he was a teammate with for six and a half seasons.
Knicks SG Evan Fournier has been struggling to see playing time for New York in the past month. He hasn’t played in a game since 11/15, and the 30 year old is only averaging (6.9) points per game this season, the lowest of his career since the 2013-14 season. Vucevic knows the type of competitor that Fournier is and hates to see that he’s not getting any playing time.
NBA betting sites have the Knicks at (+15000) to win the Finals this season.
“Everything’s on the table. That’s why you have a team”
— Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau is asked whether benched veterans Derrick Rose or Evan Fournier could play if guard Jalen Brunson’s sprained ankle keeps him out pic.twitter.com/OWdPQIsfFo
— New York Basketball (@NBA_NewYork) December 12, 2022
Bulls’ Nikola Vucevic sympathizes for Knicks guard Evan Fournier
Evan Fournier was traded from the Orlando Magic right at the 2021 trade deadline. Nikola Vucevic and Fournier were teammates for six and a half seasons and clearly the two are still friends. That is why Vucevic spoke his feelings publicly about seeing Fournier fall out of the lineup for New York. He had this to say via New York Daily News.
“One thing about him, he’s a huge competitor. He plays to win. He gives it all up. For sure it’s difficult for him to not be out there and not be able to play. Especially when he’s into his best years right now and he’s coming off a good season as well,” – Nikola Vucevic
It’s not like Fournier just fell off the face of the earth and forgot how to play basketball. He simply just hasn’t gotten the chances he did last season. Fournier was a huge piece for the Knicks last season, starting and playing in 80 of 82 possible games. In the 2012-22 season he also had 241 three-pointers which was the fourth-most in the league. Vucevic praised his former teammate for being a true pro and not letting the tough times effect his outlook.
“It sucks for him not to play. But one thing I respect about him is he’s staying a pro throughout it all. Very supportive of his teammates. You never hear him say anything bad or negative to the press about anything, anyone. You got to respect that. That’s hard for a guy who is on the top of his game and very well-respected around the league. To just be out of the rotation is very difficult to deal with,” – Nikola Vucevic
Head coach Tom Thibodeau has opted to use Quentin Grimes and even Cam Reddish over Fournier recently.
