The Orlando Magic were one of the most active teams in the NBA this offseason as they continue to seek their first playoff berth since trading Dwight Howard. With all of their big moves, one that slipped under the radar was re-signing Evan Fournier. With the trade of Victor Oladipo, and committing $85 million to Fournier, the Magic clearly believe that he can be a consistent scoring threat in their backcourt. With his game improving every year, and the right players around him, is Evan Fournier now ready to emerge as one of the key pieces of the Magic with his increased role?

While there was no shortage of minutes for Fournier last season as he averaged 32.5 minutes per game, his usage rate was just 20.1%. Fournier ranked fourth on the team of the five players who played 20 or more minutes per game. Fournier as a fourth option isn’t good enough for the skill set he possesses.

Fournier averaged 15.4 points per game (+3.4 from the previous season) with a True Shooting Percentage of 58.7. Fournier is a versatile scorer, certainly more versatile than Elfrid Payton, as well as the now traded Oladipo. 

Fournier shot an impressive 40% from three on nearly five attempts per game. A big reason why he is so efficient at shooting threes is the volume he takes that are wide open. As 86% of his threes are assisted on (which is normal), 30% are catch and shoot threes, and Fournier shoots 41% on catch and shoots threes. Although teams are prepared for him to shoot threes, his ability to curl around screens, mixed in with a fairly quick release make some of those shots more open.

What makes Fournier more dangerous as a scorer is he can also get to the basket. He finishes 62% on shots in the restricted area. Also, on the 5.1% of isolation plays called for him, he scored .98 points per possession with a 48.8% eFG. Being a versatile scorer, equipped with good ball handling ability, it is surprising the Magic didn’t rely on Fournier to create for himself with more frequency. 

With a defensive minded coach in Frank Vogel, and players like Bismack Biyombo and Serge Ibaka added to their roster, there’s no doubt the Magic will be a much better defensive team overall this season. Even if Fournier is never destined to be a plus defender, it always helps when there are elite defensive players around him to make him look more competent. 

Perhaps more importantly for Fournier, these new defensive minded players present even more opportunities for Fournier on offense. Payton, Ibaka and Biyombo all have some redeeming offensively qualities, but they aren’t the type of players who have the ability to create their own shots and have historically been lower usage players.

While some of those shots will go to Ibaka and the rising star Aaron Gordon, there’s no doubt that Fournier will pick up a lot of shots while also being a primary ball handler. Fournier has already proved that he can seize the opportunity when it presents itself. Every year he has been in the league, he has improved his game. When Tobias Harris was traded at the deadline, Fournier was given more scoring chances. Fournier put up his best numbers of the season after the trade as he averaged 13.4 shot attempts per game while shooting 49% from the floor. He averaged close to 20 points per game despite a drop off in his three-point percentage. Fournier will need to have the season of his career and provide similar production all 82 games.

If the Magic upgrade their defense as expected, some combination of Fournier, Gordon and Nikola Vucevic will need to efficiently score upwards of 20 points per game apiece for their offense to approach league average and become the playoff team they expect to be.