Evan Fournier said he turned down offer to mentor young Wizards to play, compete in Europe

After being buried on Tom Thibodeau’s bench for most of the last two seasons, then getting a major role and averaging 9.8 points a game for the silver medal winning French team in the Paris Olympics, Evan Fournier didn’t want to go back to sitting on an NBA bench.

So he rejected a two-year offer from the Wizards to sign with EuroLeague power Olympiacos in Greece, Fournier told French sports publication L’Equipe, via Maxime Aubin (hat tip Hoop Rumors).

Look at Fournier’s welcome in Greece and you can see why he made the call.

The money as a top European player and the veteran minimum contract the Wizards offered should be similar, and if that’s the case of course he chose getting on the court and playing for something meaningful. After a dozen years in the NBA, Fournier was ready for a change.

He’s in a place where he gets to enjoy playing again. For an aging player, that matters a lot.