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By John DentonOct. 10, 2014
INDIANAPOLIS -- Evan Fournier was perfectly content the past two seasons with the Denver Nuggets and, more than anything, he was just delighted to be living out his lifelong dream of playing in the NBA.
Little did he know that the freedom that he desperately sought as a basketball player would be found elsewhere in the NBA.
Fournier’s basketball world was rocked a bit last June when he was surprisingly dealt to the Orlando Magic for veteran shooting guard Aaron Afflalo. Naturally, there was some apprehension about being taken out of his comfort zone and what was ahead for him in a new basketball situation in Orlando.
But now that Fournier has had some time to go through a week of training camp with the Magic, mesh with his new teammates and thrive in one preseason game, Fournier feels that he couldn’t be in a better spot for his blossoming career than in Orlando.
With the Nuggets, Fournier was used as a playmaking guard much of his rookie year while taking orders from veteran head coach George Karl. Then, in his second season, rookie head coach Brian Shaw mostly took the ball out of Fournier’s hands and relegated him to a spot-up shooting role. In Orlando, GM Rob Hennigan immediately instilled a belief in Fournier’s abilities as a player and head coach Jacque Vaughn has given him the freedom to play with flash and be creative on the court as both a passer and a shooter.
``It feels really good being here. I’m not going to lie about that,’’ Fournier said before the Magic’s preseason game in Indiana on Friday night. ``(Tuesday’s opener in Miami) was a really exciting game for me because I had the ball in my hands and was able to make decisions out of the pick-and-roll. I’m looking forward to getting better in those situations so that I can prove to Coach (Vaughn) that I can handle more and more.’’
Orlando (1-0) got several encouraging performances on Tuesday night in Miami – Tobias Harris and Nikola Vucevic played like team leaders; rookies Aaron Gordon, Elfrid Payton and Devyn Marble showed encouraging flashes; and veteran holdovers Kyle O’Quinn and Maurice Harkless provided sparks of energy off the bench. The Magic were also thrilled by the multi-dimensional play of Fournier, who pumped in 13 points, drilled two 3-pointers, got the free throw line five times, nabbed three rebounds, handed out two assists and swiped a steal.
Fournier’s do-everything style of play on Tuesday showed why the Magic have liked the 21-year-old’s game for years and jumped at the chance to trade for him when made available by the Nuggets last summer. Fournier, a native of France, admitted to being blown away when he arrived in Orlando and many in the organization already knew of his background as a person and player because the Magic had been scouting the combo guard for years.
Vaughn, who travelled to Spain in August so that he could get to know Fournier while France was competing in the FIBA World Cup, said he has tried to convey to the guard that there is a strong belief in his abilities as a player. Fournier said that he has a great deal of excitement in playing for the Magic because Vaughn has given him a freedom as a player to make plays.
``That’s the ultimate for an athlete, being able to go into a game with preparation but being free of mind and letting your instincts take over,’’ Vaughn said. ``When you have an understanding between yourself and the coach and the players around you and they believe in what you can produce for the team, it offers a different confidence on the floor.’’
Injuries to Victor Oladipo (MCL knee sprain) and Willie Green (hyper-extended knee) – neither will play tonight nor will forward Channing Frye (MCL knee sprain) – have allowed Fournier to play more minutes at both the shooting guard and point guard positions so far. That, Fournier said, has helped shorten his learning curve and sharpened his chemistry with his new teammates.
``I was very comfortable out there on Tuesday. We don’t have a lot of plays, but we do have a lot of concepts. I think we did a pretty good job of moving the ball and sharing the ball. It wasn’t too bad for a first game,’’ he said. ``I’m getting to know the guys better. Every practice and every game is an opportunity for me to get to know them. But I really think our chemistry is already pretty good. We just have to build upon it and keep moving forward.’’
Freedom on the court is a big issue for Fournier, who plays with a bit of flair in his game and likes making high risk, high reward passes from time to time. He did have four turnovers in his first game – something he hopes will decrease as he learns more about where his new teammates like the ball. But Fournier did have a dazzling layup capped by a ``Euro Step’’ move around a defender and also a high degree of difficulty, crosscourt pass to Harris for a 3-pointer.
Vaughn said he’s told Fournier that he will be allowed some freedom to create plays in the offense – to a certain point. He loves that Vaughn believes in him and trusts him to make the right plays.
``You hold every player accountable, but you have to let them be themselves also,’’ Vaughn said. ``Evan’s a guy that with his footwork and the way he finishes at the rim, you’ll see some flair throughout the game. I’m totally fine with that as long as it’s within the concepts of us as a team.’’