Donte DiVincenzo is what we dreamed Evan Fournier was going to be

Heading into the 2021 offseason, the Knicks, who had just made the playoffs for the first time in eight years, were looking to make a splash to help them take the next step. And that splash came in the form of Kemba Walker, Evan Fournier, Nerlens Noel, Alex Burks, and Taj Gibson. None of them were the kind of needle-moving stars to catapult a team to the finals but at the time, they looked like solid additions to what was an exciting, young, up-and-coming roster that included first-time All-Star, Julius Randle, RJ Barrett, Immanuel Quickley, and Obi Toppin.

Looking back though, it’s evident just how disastrous and unsuccessful that offseason was and unfortunately for Fournier, he is the odd one out that sticks out like a sore thumb given his contract, the length of his stay, and just how publicly weird it got between him and the team at times. And while everyone had moved on since he was traded to Detroit, Monday night’s game against the Pistons put Knicks fans in a funny yet odd place where they saw the former Knick defending, better than ever at times, the man who is doing what he was brought in to do. And it got me thinking about why Fournier did not work with the Knicks and why DiVincenzo is thriving. Obviously, DiVincenzo, especially the way he is playing now, is better than Fournier was and is. But I think people sometimes forget the nuances when comparing players.

We obviously can’t have a discussion comparing the two shooting guards without bringing up defense, something that was always a talking point with Fournier. Now, Fournier, to his credit, tried for the most part. It wasn’t like he was incredibly lazy or lacked effort. He simply just wasn’t physically capable of being a good defender, and he never really was. But at least when he was younger, he had just enough quickness to be a playable defender. He was almost always a below-average defender but not a complete liability to the team. And the tape from his Orlando Magic days suggested that he’d be the same in New York. The Magic, much like the Knicks do with Robinson, often funneled teams into Aaron Gordon and Nikola Vucevic in the paint, so there was initial belief that Thibodeau could come up with a way to turn Fournier into a serviceable defender.

But boy were we wrong. It was evident early on that Fournier had become a turnstile on defense and it put way too much pressure on the rest of the team to cover for him. Unfortunately for Fournier, his defensive woes were magnified playing next to Walker and Jalen Brunson, two undersized below-average defenders.

DiVincenzo, on the other hand, is a solid on-ball defender and an even better off-ball wing defender. It can be argued that DiVincenzo is a bit small for a shooting guard in today’s game but he can use his quickness to stick with guys and uses his anticipation to play the passing lanes as well as anybody on the roster not named OG Anunoby. That alone, given their relatively similar shooting abilities, would give the edge to DiVincenzo.

But the differences came on offense as well. Both are known primarily as shooters but the DiVincenzo we’ve had this season has been on a different level. Fournier, despite being a very good shooter, still wasn’t as deadly as DiVincenzo has been this season. During his three-year tenure as a Knick, Fournier averaged 3.5 three-point makes on 9.4 attempts per 36 minutes which is good for a solid 37.2%. Those are all solid marks but DiVincenzo has him beat as he’s averaging 4.4 three-point makes on 11 attempts, which is good for 40%.

Another major difference is how they play when their shots aren’t falling. Fournier, like DiVincenzo, and really any other shooter ever, had his off days. What often separates shooters though is what they can and can’t do when they aren’t making shots. Simply put, are they just shooters or are they basketball players? And with Fournier, he was much closer to the former while DiVincenzo is the latter. Fournier did have the occasional cuts and floaters, but when he wasn’t hitting shots, he rarely contributed much offensively, and that was while he was a clear negative on defense.

With DiVincenzo, even when his shot is off, he finds ways to contribute more often than not. Not only is he a solid defender as mentioned earlier, he is much better and much more consistent cutter and finisher. In his first season as a Knick, we’ve seen DiVincenzo find seams in the defense when they blitz Randle or Brunson and utilize a wide array of floaters and layups, something we rarely saw Fournier do.

DiVincenzo is also better with the ball in his hands. While his sample size as a ball handler isn’t big, there have been a few games where both Brunson and Randle are out and he’s shown what he’s capable of with a larger role and responsibility. And that includes not just scoring but playmaking. In his three seasons as a Knick, Fournier averaged 2.6 assists per 36 minutes while DiVincenzo is averaging 3.5 assists per 36 minutes.

Last but not least, there’s the simple aspect of fit. Not just basketball-wise but also personality and character-wise. And this isn’t a knock on Fournier. He was a professional throughout his entire time in New York, and I’ve yet to ever hear anything negative about Fournier as a person, or teammate. But sometimes you just don’t fully gel. I’m sure he tried his hardest to fit on and off the court and I’m sure his teammates did too. But it’s so evident that DiVincenzo fits much better in both regards. And it also helps that he’s playing with his close friends and college teammates, Brunson and Hart.

This again, isn’t to discredit Fournier, or to blame him for his time in New York. I’m sure he wanted more than anything to make it work here. But on a night when DiVincenzo broke a record Fournier once held, I just couldn't help but think about how similar yet different these two are. And it ultimately served as a reminder of just how fragile and difficult building a truly special team that bonds on and off the court can be.

Fournier’s first season wasn’t that far off from DiVincenzo’s in terms of stats but it’s clear, and becoming more and more clear by the game, that DiVincenzo is not only the better player but also a better fit with strengths that much better complement this teams’ weaknesses.