There was little suspense. Evan Fournier has a final year of contract at $19 million, in the form of a « team option« . It was therefore up to the Pistons to decide whether or not they wanted to keep the Frenchman for the 2024/25 season.
The Athletic tells us that, as expected, the Detroit franchise has decided not to activate this option, therefore to let Evan Fournier go.
The Blues’ rearguard, who had a very complicated 2023/24 season, finds himself on the market, free to sign wherever he wants, and his future is still written in the NBA, his agents explained. An important moment for him, at 31, to get back on track after the last few months of skating.
As a “joker” in a big team?
As a reminder, after his successful 2021/22 season in New York, where he was a starter, the former Orlando winger spent more than half of the following season on the bench. And again this season, Tom Thibodeau did not want to use him and it was his transfer to Detroit that allowed him to find playing time.
However, in a catastrophic team (worst record in the league), he did not necessarily shine with only 7.2 points on average, at 37% shooting success.
Team option : possibility for a team to activate (or not) the last year of the contract of one of its players, so that he finishes his lease or becomes free agent a year in advance.
