1 offseason trade that sends Evan Fournier back to the Boston Celtics

So the Boston Celtics may not have struck a deal at this year’s NBA Draft to move up into the first round like they reportedly wanted to, but this doesn’t mean that the buck stopped here in regard to potential offseason transactions.

Quite the contrary, in fact, for while there were a few deals that could have been made Thursday night for the C’s to land a first, a trade being executed has always been perceived as far more likely to happen post draft night, as the franchise finds itself in possession of several TPE’s that are set to expire in the coming weeks.

The most luxurious of these exceptions was acquired at the start of last year’s free agency period via a sign-and-trade that sent veteran wing Evan Fournier to the New York Knicks, and it comes with a value of up to $17.1 million.

Moving along into the offseason, there are a multitude of avenues that the Boston Celtics can embark on in order to best utilize this highly-touted asset, and we here at HH have many players in mind that could fit the bill as being ideal targets.

However, just recently, a trade concept so bizarre that involves this exception was just brought into the limelight and, as a result, has the sports world seemingly stumped.

According to sports pundit, John Gambadoro, the Knicks have gone about and proposed a deal with the C’s that would send Fournier back to Boston via the TPE, thus closing the loop that was opened last summer.

Now, this concept has both fans and publications trapped inside quite a quagmire, for no one can come to the conclusion as to whether or not such a scenario is even feasible with the CBA’s guidelines.

However, according to Celtics Blog’s Keith Smith, he has received word that a trade such as this could be possible should it be agreed to prior to the official start of his second season under contract with New York.

Of course, plausibility does not mean that the Boston Celtics would or even should be interested in making a trade such as this become a reality, for there are many varying factors in this scenario, perhaps most notably the size of the wing’s contract (owed $18.6 million annually through 2025), which was the main reason why Brad Stevens and co. opted not to bring him back last offseason in the first place.

That said, in many ways, the reacquisition of Fournier could actually wind up helping this ball club with their on-court production. Just recently, in fact, Stevens made comments about what he believes this roster needs to add before the start of 2022-23 and stated that adding consistent offense, particularly off the pine, is at the top of their to-do list.

If nothing else, the 29-year-old is someone who could fit this bill to a tee.

Now listen, are we saying that Boston must look to absorb Evan Fournier’s deal into the TPE that he created for them nearly a year ago? No.

Having said that, should the C’s decision-makers be open to the idea (again, assuming the league’s rules even allow for such a scenario, as the answer is still relatively up in the air), we at the Houdini believe that this trade proposal below should be the bare minimum package they should be willing to accept partaking in:

At this point, it’s quite evident that New York is incredibly desperate to clear up cap space this summer in order to pursue a new franchise point guard via the free agency market (i.e. Jalen Brunson).

Already, they’ve traded away Kemba Walker and the final year of his deal to open up some wiggle room, and the next domino to fall would preferably be Evan Fournier.

The ability to swap him out and bring back nothing in return that would significantly go against their salary cap situation would be a luxury in itself, so even if it means parting ways with a couple of seconds, this move could be well worth it in the eyes of President, Leon Rose.

As for the Boston Celtics, they bring back a player who could significantly help them in the tertiary scoring department alongside the likes of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.

In this year’s NBA Finals, it was painfully evident that this team could use another talent who can go out and buy a bucket at a consistent and efficient rate. If their two stars were swarmed by a defense, out of rhythm, or both (which wasn’t all that uncommon against Golden State) the offense succumbed to stagnant trends that plagued them early on in the regular season.

Fournier is a career 14.3 point per game scorer on 38 percent shooting from deep who has even seen full-season averages as high as 18.5 points just three years ago.

Despite it being viewed as somewhat of a let-down campaign in 2021-22, the Frenchman still boasted solid averages of 14.1 points, 2.6 boards, 2.1 assists, and a steal per game on 39 percent shooting from downtown, whilst also breaking a franchise record for most 3-pointers made in a single season with 241 (ranked fourth in the entire association).

A highly efficient catch-and-shoot offensive contributor (boasted a 59.3 effective field goal percentage on such attempts this past season) and a player who can put the ball on the floor where he can either create separation with his solid handles, drive the lane and score with his impressive stop-and-pop abilities, or even just serve as another trusty ball handler within the rotation, there are many things to like about Evan Fournier’s game rejoining this Boston Celtics rotation.

Again, do we believe such a deal will happen? Probably not.

But, should Brad Stevens be interested in making such a move, this proposal would be a good jumping-off point.