Brian Shaw’s inside-out offense will present plenty of opportunities for perimeter shooters. The likelihood of Randy Foye starting and being a valuable shooter in that offense is good, but Evan Fournier presents a more dynamic player. The glimpses of good we saw in Fournier last season and what he has shown through just two preseason games, thus far, have me convinced he’s the best option for the Nuggets at the shooting guard spot.
The soon to be 21 year-old (Oct. 29th) has a jumper that will work in Shaw's offense, the ability to hit the three, can be a play-maker with the ball, moves well without the ball (maybe the best on the team), and plays an aggressive style of defense.
A lot of what the Nuggets may have in Fournier involves guesswork to a degree. In a more "traditional offense" how will his game develop? It's hard to say because we didn't get to see a whole lot of Evan last season. To wit, he only took 13 shots from 10-feet out to the three point line last season in George Karl's offense. How will he do incorporating more jumpers into his game? His shot mechanics suggest he will adjust well to any type of shooting.
One concern, or critique, the Nuggets coaches had about Fournier during the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas was when he had the ball in his hands. They wanted him to be able to improvise better when he was driving the ball. Fournier was a little too predictable on his drives in Vegas and was picking up some charges and not completing some drives. Maneuvering through NBA defenses is a learning process that Evan will have to pick up.
Starting Fournier would be a learning process in and of itself. But I'd rather see the Nuggets go with a guy with upside that can grow into a role with the team over the veteran Randy Foye. Foye, 30 years-old, is a fine option and a steady player, but he is what he is at this point of his career. The Nuggets are a young enough team already that going with Fournier makes sense.
It could be argued that while trying to develop JaVale McGee it would be smarter to have Foye in there to provide a veteran presence, but with a more diverse game – Fournier is the better option. The Nuggets are in a re-tooling phase already and should give the nod to the younger player. To the player that has the upside to be the more complete player.
If it were me, I'd start Fournier.
