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The week of the NBA trade deadline is upon us and the Boston Celtics continue to figure prominently in hot-stove chatter. While Boston was able to get back on a winning track on Sunday, beating the Orlando Magic with a flurry of three-point shots, the underperforming team could clearly still use a roster shake-up.
As it happens, the Celtics were linked to Magic forward Aaron Gordon in the wake of the win. Per a report from The Athletic, GM Danny Ainge has even had conversations with Orlando about a potential deal.
However, he may not be the only Magic player that Ainge and his brain trust have had their eyes on.
According to The Athletic’s Shams Charania, sources have indicated that the Celtics are a potential suitor for veteran wing Evan Fournier as well.
Multiple Teams Inquiring About Fournier
In his seventh year in Orlando and ninth go-round in the Association, Fournier is having one of his better years since entering the league. He is currently averaging a career-high 19.1 points per contest while knocking down better than 38 percent of his three-point attempts.
He also happens to be on an expiring contract that will pay him just over $17 million this season and, clearly, the Magic aren’t making much headway as currently constituted. So, Fournier definitely joins Gordon — who is said to have requested a move — as a candidate to be traded.
However, if the Celtics are truly interested, they’re undoubtedly not the only ones.
Per Bleacher Report’s Jake Fischer, it is believed that the Dallas Mavericks may have offered a package including James Johnson and two second-round picks in exchange for Fournier.
If that is the going rate for the sharpshooter, it is not entirely prohibitive. However, the Celtics don’t have a salary — expiring or otherwise — that matches Fournier’s number as well as Johnson’s. Marcus Smart, who is signed through next season, comes closest at just under $13 million.
If the Celtics endeavor to bring both Fournier and Gordon into the fold, they may have to offer up a substantial compensation package.
Fournier’s Offenive Impact
Fournier has been something of a mixed bag defensively; he made strides in Steve Clifford’s first year at the helm in Orlando, but looks to have regressed more recently. However, it is hard to dispute his status as a difference-maker offensively.
His shot distribution has been ideal this season, as he is taking nearly 50 percent of his shots from behind the arc. That equates to a career-high seven attempts per game, which has aided in pushing his effective field goal percentage to 55.
The 28-year-old is also getting to the line at a much higher rate than ever before, logging nearly six free throw attempts per 36 minutes.
Fournier has always been a fairly efficient player; this season, even as the Magic have scuffled, he has been even more so. Consequently, the Magic have scored 110.3 points per 100 possessions when he is on the floor, which is the best mark on the team. It is not a lights-out number, but it does represent a huge uptick for Orlando.
Although he struggled against the Celtics, he is just a few days removed from scoring 31 points and hitting six threes in a shocking win over the Brooklyn Nets.
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