Evan Fournier Says He Turned Down Wizards Contract, Didn’t Want to Play for Losing Team | News, Scores, Highlights, Stats and Rumors

Former NBA forward Evan Fournier, who just signed a two-year, $4 million contract with Greek professional basketball club Olympiakos, said he turned down a contract offer from the Washington Wizards.

Maxine Aubin with Team This message was delivered by Fournier, who stated during his appearance on the program that he was not interested in “being a mentor” to younger players or playing on a “losing team” First team podcast.

The Wizards went 15-67 last season, which is bad enough for the second-worst win-loss record in the NBA (the Detroit Pistons were bottom at 14-68). FanDuel Sports Bettingthe team’s win rate for next season is 20.5. The prognosis for next year’s squad is also not the best.

Washington also has a roster that is more youthful, as most of the team is 25 or younger. But it does have some veterans, including Jonas Valančiūnas, Richaun Holmes, Malcolm Brogdon and Kyle Kuzma.

Ultimately, the 31-year-old Fournier decided to build on his successful performance at the Olympic Games with the silver medal-winning French team and sign a new contract with Olympiacos.

Still, he performed quite well during his 12-year NBA career, averaging 13.6 points on 44.1 percent shooting, including a career-best 18.5 points per game for the Orlando Magic, which made the playoffs.

Playing time was hard to come by the past two seasons, most notably with the New York Knicks. He fell out of the rotation but was dealt to the Pistons before the end of the 2023-24 season, averaging 7.2 PPG in 18.7 MPG.

At the 2024 Paris Olympics, Fournier was the third-leading Frenchman in scoring, averaging 9.8 points per game.