The New York Knicks finally landed a coveted free agent. They also managed to retain their own.
Evan Fournier agreed to a four-year contract from the Knicks that could be worth as much as $78 million, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. New York owns an option on the fourth year of the deal.
Meanwhile, the Knicks also retained several of their own key free agents from last season’s surprising run to the fourth playoff seed in the Eastern Conference, including Derrick Rose, Nerlens Noel and Alec Burks.
Fournier averaged 17.1 points (on 46/41/79 shooting splits), 3.4 assists and three rebounds in 30 minutes over 42 games split between the Orlando Magic and Boston Celtics last season. The Celtics traded a pair of second-round picks for Fournier at the deadline. He was among Boston’s priorities this offseason, but this week’s trade for Josh Richardson signaled the team may not be willing to meet Fournier’s asking price.
The Knicks get the playmaking wing they coveted when they pursued Gordon Hayward last offseason. Hayward left the Celtics for the Charlotte Hornets. Fournier is an upgrade from Reggie Bullock, who left for the Dallas Mavericks in free agency. Bullock shot 41% from 3-point range last season, but Fournier adds another playmaking dimension to a team already boasting Julius Randle and R.J. Barrett on the wings.
Check back soon for more details.
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Ben Rohrbach is a staff writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at rohrbach_ben@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @brohrbach
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