Proposal sees former Boston Celtics guard flipped from Knicks for Gary Trent Jr.

The Boston Celtics dabbled in Kevin Durant trade talks, offering Jaylen Brown, Derrick White, and a draft pick to the Brooklyn Nets for their soon-to-be-34-year-old 12x All-Star forward, but talks ultimately went nowhere–not just for the Cs but for every other team in the NBA that engaged Sean Marks and co. on a potential deal–and the likelihood is high that the current 12-man roster rides into the preseason intact.

Danilo Gallinari’s torn left meniscus, suffered while playing for the Italian national team in a FIBA World Cup qualifier against Georgia this past Saturday, complicates things slightly, but a minimum signing to fill one of the team’s final three roster spots should be a passable band-aid solution. Carmelo Anthony has been mentioned as a potential fill-in at the forward spots.

The rest of the Atlantic Division isn’t expected to behave in the same manner as the Cs. Brooklyn has been held up all summer by Durant’s situation, the Toronto Raptors are clearly in the hunt for upgrades capable of getting them back to a championship level given their Durant interest, and the New York Knicks are chasing the biggest fish on the market, Donovan Mitchell.

In a mock trade for NBA Analysis Network, James Piercey linked the latter two teams and ditched those aforementioned offseason goals. Instead, his proposal sees the Knicks trading away former Boston Celtics guard Evan Fournier and two future first-round picks for Raptors guard Gary Trent Jr.:

"Toronto Raptors Receive: G/F Evan Fournier, 2023 1st Round Pick (DET via NYK), 2023 1st Round Pick (WAS via NYK)New York Knicks Receive: G/F Gary Trent Jr."

The Boston Celtics dodged a bullet avoiding an Evan Fournier overpay

That Evan Fournier’s production actually declined after his half-season stint with the Boston Celtics during his initial season in the ‘Big Apple’ proves that President of Basketball Operations Brad Stevens knew what he was doing when he let the Frenchman walk last summer.

This isn’t to say that Fournier isn’t an NBA-level starter, but at over $18 million a season, he becomes an albatross every season he moves further away from his peak performance during his time with the Orlando Magic.

N.A.N.’s proposal isn’t tall that crazy as Fournier enters his 30s and Gary Trent Jr. enters his prime years. Still, it’d likely not be worth the upgrade for New York, and Toronto may even balk at the idea of taking a step back even with future picks coming their way.