The possibility that the Boston Celtics perform a sign-and-trade this offseason involving Evan Fournier remains alive.
MassLive’s Brian Robb went into detail about the possibility of the Frenchman being too pricey for President of Basketball Operations Brad Stevens to justify backing up the brinks truck over the weekend.
The Cs could hypothetically land a decent-sized contract in return for Fournier’s new contract with the other team in the deal.
It’s unclear just who would fork up the money for him and give up assets, but Rob believes the idea is a possibility if a distant one:
"Putting together a deal like this is very complicated since it involves keeping all three sides happy (the two teams and the player). For that reason, the odds remain in favor of Fournier staying put in Boston or signing outright with a new team.However, a lack of cap room around the NBA this summer will bring more sign-and-trades into play across the league as teams search for creative ways to improve their roster with limited options. The Celtics only have a few movable assets this summer beyond their core so this is a path they should be exploring closely if Fournier becomes too pricy an option for them or if they want to simply maintain payroll flexibility for the summer of 2022."
If you’re looking for prop bets to get you through the summer into football–and we recommend just tuning into the Olympics for that fix–don’t place any sizable wagers on a Fournier sign-and-trade. Quite honestly, it’d be impressive to even find a sportsbook with action on that.
But, don’t write the possibility off either. Stevens has earned some brownie points for his creativity in dumping Kemba Walker’s contract and maintaining future flexibility. Who knows what he’ll do next to maneuver the salary cap to get the most on potentially outgoing personnel.
Fournier is a potential offseason trade chip who is possibly earning himself more dollars but definitely earning himself more interest with his Olympics performance (28 points in a Team France win over Team USA). Stevens is likely fired up to see where he or his outbound cap figure fit in the Boston Celtics’ roster puzzle.
A hard cap might not be so bad this year if they can find the right return piece. Danny Ainge left his predecessor with a lot of recent draft talent to work with to integrate to or trade away from the new Celtics vision.
We’ll keep you updated on Fournier’s free agency this summer.