Now that the trade deadline has come and gone, roughly one million (plus or minus a few) questions have risen to the forefront of the post-deadline dialogue for the Boston Celtics.
While wondering whether the Tristan Thompson rumors from Tuesday night were true or not is just one–especially since he remains on the roster but was reportedly in trade talks–the more important question is regarding the C’s backcourt.
Namely, who starts on the wing alongside Jaylen Brown? Assuming Thompson is now the de facto starter with his main competition in Daniel Theis in Chicago, the Marcus Smart-Evan Fournier debate is one that will shape how Brad Stevens staggers the touches of all of his offensive weapons.
In Fournier, the Celtics have another 20-point-per-game scorer in addition to Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum. The odds are high that Fournier loses that designation on a team with so many players that need the ball in their hands. Remember also, it was just last season that Kemba Walker was also in that boat.
There’s a lot of cooks in the kitchen.
Smart is a lower maintenance option, but he is also one of the key cogs of the defensive identity of the team. After winning the starting job in 2019, he ceded the starting 2-guard spot to Brown, who has not looked back.
Can Fournier serve as a roadblock to Smart starting alongside his “Team Shamrock” teammates in the same way Gordon Hayward did after returning from injury last year?
It’s possible. Stevens has more lineup versatility now with Fournier essentially replacing Daniel Theis as a high-usage rotational piece. While the Frenchman can give the C’s starting lineup a four-headed monster of 3-point shooters with career percentages of at least 36%, Smart gives them more balance.
Fournier’s scoring may be best served on a shooting-deprived second unit. We’ll see if Stevens agrees either tomorrow or Saturday when Fournier makes his Boston Celtics debut.