The Orlando Magic were a nice story early on in the season as they were winning a lot of games and looked like a real contender for a playoff spot. Orlando is still only two and a half games out of the eighth spot in the Eastern Conference but they have lost 11 of their last 12 games. Despite the poor recent play the Magic still have a nice young core that looks to have a future together so the key is keeping them all. This offseason Evan Fournier will be a restricted free agent but the Magic want to keep him, according to Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel.
Fournier is in his second season with the Magic after being acquired via trade from the Denver Nuggets. This season Fournier has gotten a chance to be a full-time starter in the NBA and as a result he is putting together a career year. Fournier's numbers are nice (13.8 points per game, 43 percent from the field and 38 percent from three) but he has also hit some huge shots for the Magic and has shown some really nice growth.
This past offseason Fournier was eligible for a contract extension but both he and the team decided to forego that possibility as they realized it wasn't in anybody's best interest. Fournier wanted to prove he could earn a bigger contract with a bigger role while the Magic were unsure if they wanted to commit to him long-term. Now it seems as though GM Rob Hennigan is willing to commit long-term.
"We really value Evan. We've said that all along, and I'll say about Evan what we said about Tobias, which is it's our intention that he'll be here for many years to come. We really, really like him and think he's a great piece to continue to grow with our team," said Hennigan referring to Tobias Harris who re-signed with Orlando as a restricted free agent last summer.
If the Magic truly want to keep Fournier they have all of the power to do so considering he will be a restricted free agent and they can match any offer he receives. It is possible that some team could come in and offer Fournier an exorbitant amount of money, in which case the Magic would likely let him walk, but that probably won't be the case. The likelihood is, and always has been, that Fournier will remain with the Magic beyond this season, barring something unforeseen, but now it seems like he might be a top priority.
