Boston Celtics: Grading the Evan Fournier trade deadline deal

Boston Celtics fans everywhere have been calling for a move to be made all season as it started looking worse and worse for the team. With just mere hours to go before the NBA’s trade deadline, Danny Ainge finally got a deal done.

The Boston Celtics acquired Orlando Magic guard/forward Evan Fournier for two second-round picks on Thursday, as originally reported by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

A lot of fans are up in arms about the fact that Fournier was the only piece included in this trade given that there was the potential for so much more, cough Aaron Gordon cough.

Looking at the deal itself and not the other possibilities of what it could have been, this is an absolute win.

Fournier has developed into a very good pure scorer and at this point, that’s what the Celtics need. Assuming he comes off the bench, he is now the only player off the Celtics bench that is going to be averaging double digits. The lack of consistent bench production is one of the biggest things that have been holding the team back this season, this move looks to fix that.

At 28 years old, Fournier is beginning to get up there in age, but like fine wine, it only looks like he’s getting better. Averaging almost 20 points per game, he’s coming off a 2020 campaign in which he averaged a career-high 18.5 points per game on 46.7 percent from the field.

He’s on the last year of his deal and is set to be an unrestricted free agent once the season ends. The Celtics hold bird rights on him which makes it easier for them to match any contract he’s given. For the value of two second-round picks that probably wouldn’t or shouldn’t make the roster anyway, this is a great deal.

Overall, Ainge could have done more, but I’m definitely glad he didn’t do less.

Boston Celtics trade grade: B