The first shot was fired at the trade deadline for the Boston Celtics, who acquired Evan Fournier from the Orlando Magic.
After showing restraint in acquiring Indiana Pacers pivot Myles Turner for Gordon Hayward in the offseason, the traded player exception that was created from sending Hayward to the Charlotte Hornets was finally used on Fournier’s $17 million cap figure.
That was not something that impressed some Cs fans, who believed the team would have been better off waiting until the offseason to acquire more of an impact player than the 28-year-old Frenchman.
Count NBCSports Boston’s own Chris Forsberg among those who are skeptical about the deal…or at least about what Danny Ainge had said publically before the trade deadline:
Let’s see what else Danny Ainge has up his sleeve but publicly hinting at not using the TPE and especially not for an impending free agent, then trading for a $17 million impending free agent is an interesting start.
— Chris Forsberg (@ChrisForsberg_) March 25, 2021
Fournier, to his credit, is a major upgrade over anyone currently on the Cs bench. As a 20-point-per-game scorer on a 46/39/80 shooting slash–which, by the way, includes seven 3-point shot attempts per game–he should help improve a Boston Celtics bench that currently ranks 18th in the league in scoring.
The Orlando Magic dealt away Fournier after sending Nikola Vucevic to the Chicago Bulls in a deal that brought back several future draft picks and Wendell Carter Jr.. Since the Fournier deal, Aaron Gordon has been moved to the Denver Nuggets as well.
Ainge clearly capitalized on a firesale that the Magic were holding, but one wonders if he pursued the wrong member of the Magic. Fournier is a nice efficient addition, but Vucevic and Gordon arguably move the needle more and put the Cs in a better position to match the firepower of the Brooklyn Nets, Milwaukee Bucks, and Philadelphia 76ers, who are all in the top seven in points scored per game.