Orlando Magic: Evan Fournier Could Be an X-Factor

By Kareem Gantt on October 9, 2014

Many NBA pundits seem to forget that Evan Fournier was a solid player for the Denver Nuggets.

Fournier is kind of like a point-forward, a player who can play in the frontline, and also has the ball-handling skills to be a playmaker. Fouriner displayed those skills in spades with the Nuggets, and he showed enough skill that Orlando Magic GM Rob Hennigan decided to send the team’s most reliable scorer, Aaron Afflalo, back to Denver to bring Fournier to Orlando.

At the time, I panned the trade, saying in this very space that the Magic should have, and could have, gotten more for Afflalo. My opinion that the Magic cheated themselves out of better talent stuck with me until I saw Fournier play against the Miami Heat in the Magic’s first preseason game.

Yes, Fournier’s numbers were not spectacular, but he displayed the same point-forward skills that he displayed in Denver, and that got me thinking: could Fournier be the Magic’s secret weapon this season? With a roster filled with young talent and veterans looking to prove that their not washed up, Fouriner got pushed to the back of the bus.

But should we be pushing Fournier to the side? Is this the Magic’s plan to make much of nothing of Fournier, then all of a sudden, unleash him in the regular season? Fournier has talent, and he could be the difference-maker between the Magic making the playoffs, and the team enduring another losing season. I’m not making this up, the man can play.

Maybe it’s time to start paying more attention to Fournier.

Kareem Gantt is an NBA featured writer and covers the Orlando Magic for Rant Sports. For more from this author, ‘follow’ him on Twitter, ‘like’ him on Facebook and ‘add’ him to your network on Google.