By Aris Barkas/ barkas@eurohoops.net
Evan Fournier signed a two-year contract with Olympiacos, the team announced on Monday.
Things moved fast since last Friday when Eurohoops revealed that Evan Fournier is seriously thinking of a return to Europe. The French guard informed the Reds that he accepted their offer, as reported by Eurohoops earlier Monday.
The two sides finalized the exchange of paperwork making the deal official. It is a deal for the next three years, but it is unclear if a team or a player option is included for the 2026-27 season.
Fournier has expressed in the past his intention to play for Olympiacos and finally, he is returning to Europe after 12 years in the NBA, making the Reds, which were already Final Four contenders, one of the main favorites for the EuroLeague crown, currently belonging to their cross-town rivals Panathinaikos.
Back in 2022, Evan Fournier tweeted the following during the EuroLeague Final Four in Belgrade: “If one day I had to return to Europe and I had the choice to go wherever I wanted, I think I would go for Olympiacos. It’s still a hell of a club”.
He spent the last season between the New York Knicks and the Detroit Pistons. In his 12-year NBA career, he had experiences in Denver, Orlando, and Boston before his two ultimate franchises.
The perfect match
Olympiacos confirmed their interest on Monday, however, Fournier also expressed his wish to play for them a few days ago by contacting indirectly the club and of course, this was an opportunity that the Greeks simply couldn’t pass.
In this transfer, money was not an issue for either side, even if Fournier is getting a lucrative contract, making him one of the highest-paid players in Europe with a salary of around two million euros net.
It was a decision that the club owners Aggelopoulos brothers made thinking also about the fact that Olympiacos as a multisport club celebrates its centenary jubilee this season.
During the presentation of another big signing, the return of Sasha Vezenkov to Piraeus, the owners announced that the roster was completed. However, after the incoming addition of Fournier, a total of 10 non-Greek players signed, while only seven of them can register for the Greek league and only six can be used per game, it’s more than possible that at least one of them will be released or loaned to another club.