Evan Fournier was an fascinating Celtic.
Not a memorable one. Not a profitable one.
Fournier’s arrival got here throughout the peak of Boston instability throughout the Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum period. He arrived to assist fill the taking pictures and scoring deficit left by Gordon Hayward’s departure the earlier summer season. It turned Danny Ainge’s final vital transfer as President of Basketball Operations.
It additionally makes me assume again to a darker time in staff historical past, to in all probability my worst take protecting the staff — that Boston needed to retain him in free company.
Three years later, the Celtics are celebrating their 2024 championship whereas Fournier has signed with Olympiacos after twelve seasons within the NBA. Brad Stevens, who ascended to president after Ainge left, didn’t re-sign Fournier in unrestricted free company. The Knicks did for four-years, $73 million — a contract that went sideways virtually instantly and ended with Fournier benched within the third season earlier than buying and selling him to Detroit as a part of the Bojan Bogdanović deal.
Whereas Stevens went on to make defining strikes, letting Fournier go set the stage for all of them alongside swapping Kemba Walker for Al Horford that summer season. It additionally proved for Stevens, as many talks did with Ainge, that the perfect strikes are those you don’t make. The Celtics used the remainder of Hayward’s commerce exception to soak up Josh Richardson’s contract, and whereas the staff’s instability and taking pictures woes continued into 2021-22, Stevens had the salaries to strike one yr after the Fournier commerce and purchase Derrick White — the defensive playmaker who quickly developed a top quality three-pointer.
Ainge gave up far much less for Fournier — a pair of second-rounders. With Boston flailing badly needing reinforcements following the Hayward loss and inactivity on the deadline costing the Celtics within the Orlando bubble, buying and selling for Fournier allowed Boston to say it did one thing. Aaron Gordon and Nikola Vučević’s names floated as dearer, flashier upgrades that the staff didn’t earn and Ainge hardly ever stomached.
Fournier’s arrival additionally got here with luxurious tax shuffling that despatched Daniel Theis to Chicago. The Celtics appeared to know they weren’t competing in 2021, however with Brown and Tatum hampered a lot by poor spacing round them, Fournier appeared like a great worth veteran addition as a 38.8% three level shooter in Orlando on excessive quantity. Defensive points and inconsistency lurked as dangers, as did his impending free company.
As an alternative, COVID-19 doomed Fournier’s Boston stint instantly. He missed two video games upon arrival, then performed 4 that included an 0-for-10 debut from the sphere and a 7-for-11 explosion from deep 4 days later. Then, he went down with one other optimistic take a look at and missed 9 video games.
That left 12 video games for him to ramp-up for the playoffs, which Boston needed to attain by means of the Play-In Event with out Brown, who underwent season-ending wrist surgical procedure throughout that stretch. Fournier began 0-for-10 upon returning, then closed the season 56.4% from three over eight video games, together with one other 7-for-11 evening. The Celtics didn’t have any taking pictures near that previous to Sam Hauser’s arrival, Grant Williams’ 2022 breakout and Horford’s return.
Fournier averaged 15.4 factors per sport and shot 43.3% from deep in opposition to Brooklyn within the playoffs and was a frequent goal for Kyrie Irving, Kevin Durant and James Harden on protection. He fouled 4 instances per sport within the collection and closed 3-for-14 on threes.
The Celtics noticed sufficient.
It made for an intriguing debate coming into that summer season. Fournier’s worth didn’t appear ludicrous: it included a fourth yr staff possibility, particularly as taking pictures turned the highest commodity league-wide. The staff nonetheless hadn’t changed Hayward and misplaced one other high scorer in Walker. Romeo Langford and Aaron Nesmith’s growth stagnated into the playoffs. As questions on Brown and Tatum’s match collectively arose, their lack of assist turned obvious in 2021. Fournier would develop into the most recent offensive risk alongside them to stroll out the door for nothing.
But that’s precisely what allowed the Celtics to succeed in the NBA Finals lower than one yr later.
It adopted an prolonged interval of doubt capped by Fournier’s 41-point revenge sport with the Knicks that dropped Boston to 18-21 after a 25-point collapse. The Celtics wanted to deal with the roster round them and empower their playmaking by buying gamers who might convert photographs. Richardson and Dennis Schröder couldn’t achieve this persistently sufficient, nor might the staff’s younger gamers.
Enter White, Malcolm Brogdon and ultimately, Jrue Vacation and Kristaps Porziņģis.
Fournier offered wanted taking pictures. Stevens and the Celtics ultimately realized you additionally want protection and ideally playmaking. Each participant offered a minimum of two of the three on the staff’s solution to the 2024 title. And it value rather a lot. Many first spherical draft picks went out the door. The wage commitments into the long run look scary. No staff is healthier positioned to contend over the subsequent two seasons.
And it began with Evan Fournier.
