Boston Celtics: What to make of Evan Fournier’s future with the Celtics

In an attempt to salvage one of the worst Boston Celtics seasons in recent memory, Danny Ainge traded two second-round picks at the deadline for The Orlando Magic’s, Evan Fournier. Before the deadline, Fournier was having a career season, averaging 19.7 points and 3.7 assists on 60.4 TS%. He was shooting 38.8% from 3 on 7.2 attempts and was averaging a steal per game. Getting that for two second-round picks was a steal and considering his skill set was greatly needed, it’s fair to say Ainge struck gold at the deadline.

Unfortunately, Fournier only played 16 games for the Celtics after the deadline, missing time due to a league-induced quarantine as well as contracting COVID just a few games after coming out of his quarantine. Even though all that smoke, Fournier managed to provide just what Boston coveted. He shot 46.3% from 3 on 5.9 attempts and averaged an efficient 13 points per game.

Ainge needed “shooting with size” and at 6’7 Fournier was the guy that could do just that as well as create his shot and make the extra pass. His chemistry with Jayson Tatum stood out the most in his short stint with the Cs, assisting 14 of Tatum’s field goal’s in the 16 regular-season games they played together. For reference, Fournier had the 8th most amount of assists to Tatum in just 16 games.

Luckily for the Boston Celtics, Fournier was healthy in time for the postseason, where the Cs would have their work cut out for them against the Brooklyn Nets. Before this series, Fournier was known as a perennial playoff choker, averaging 10.4 points on 46 TS% in his past three playoff outings.

However, given the context of Fournier’s supporting cast in each of those playoff runs, it’s understandable that his numbers were not up to par. Orlando lacked a star creator to open up lanes for Fournier to drive and never had someone to kick it out to him when he was open from 3.

He was forced to create his shot against elite playoff defense which he is not capable of doing. With Boston and specifically Jayson Tatum, Fournier had more space and more opportunities to exploit mismatches than he ever had before. Against the Nets, Fournier averaged 15.4 points on 56.4 TS%, shot 43.3% from 3 on six attempts per game, and had the lowest % of 2 point field goals assisted in his entire playoff career(57.1%).

After a tumultuous, but solid regular season and very impressive postseason, Fournier has put together a great case for the Boston Celtics to bring him back. The Cs need what he brings to the table, and they have the $10-20 million for the next 4 years to compensate him for it. Not only does that give him long-term security, but he is unlikely to receive that kind of offer from many other teams.

There is a shortlist of teams that have $15 million to spend over the next four seasons that also need a shot-creating, shooting, and passing wing. The teams that have the money for him are in the lottery and do not need or want to pay him because he is more likely to stunt their young guys’ development than he is to help their primary objective, which is tanking.

Those that need him in the middle of the playoffs in use of his skill set either don’t have the money for him or already have a guy lined up just like him. These teams include the Dallas Mavericks and New York Knicks, who have Tim Hardaway Junior and one of Alec Burks, Reggie Bullock or another star free agent wing lined up to pay.

As you can see, the likelihood of Fournier walking is low and even if he does choose to leave Boston, the C’s have his bird rights so they’d be able to get something in return for him. They can sign and trade him to bring in another asset to replace him or create another TPE to pursue someone else without needing to match his salary.

If the Boston Celtics can bring Fournier back for $15 million for four years, that would put them in a perfect position to sign a few other free agents to bolster their roster as well as keep their cap space fairly open in case a star free agent has an interest in the Celtics.

Getting Fournier on as cheap a deal as possible should remain the Celtics’ second priority, the first being bringing him back. The lower his salary, the better for the Boston Celtics long-term. Not only does his contract offer more freedom in the future to sign free agents, but he also becomes a very easily tradable asset if the Cs were to move for a star.

Moving away from the money side of this situation, bringing back Fournier keeps the Celtics competitive. Going .500 in back-to-back seasons would be a terrible look for the franchise and the C’s management needs to do all they can to make sure that doesn’t happen.

That starts with retaining Fournier, who can space the floor, pass, run second units and defend his position. He’s the perfect running man for Tatum and Brown and has shown nothing but love and gratitude to the Celtics in his short time there. Stevens and his staff need to reciprocate that love by paying Fournier and heavily involving him in the C’s offense.

They have their work cut out for them, and the Celtics’ management cannot stop at signing Fournier but cannot let him walk. After Kemba Walker is dealt, expect the Boston Celtics’ first move to be resigning Fournier.