Not much to talk about on the Orlando front other than that this was their second major move of the day. This one is bizarre considering how much value they got back for Aaron Gordon and Nikola Vucevic. Evan is averaging a career high in points 19.7 points, along with 2.9 rebounds, 3.7 assists (also a career high) on 38.8 percent shooting from the 3-point arc. The reality of the situation is that Evan is going to be a free agent this summer, so the Magic knew he probably had no interest coming back with the team. That is a tough place to be but when you declare a massive rebuild there are going to be causalities like this.
The Celtics have to be happy about the trade here because as we all know they are always sitting on a massive stockpile of picks at any given time. Fournier can come off the bench and provide a massive spark for them. Boston is currently 26th in the NBA in points off the bench with 32.3 points a game. This kind of move doesn’t tie them to Fournier for any long period of time, nor did they have to give up a lot to make it happen.
It’s also worth mentioning that they made another small deal that doesn’t make sense sending Daniel Theis to the Bulls for Mo Wagner.
This means that the Celtics essentially do not have a starting center anymore. This may signal their interest in acquiring Andre Drummond or LaMarcus Aldridge. LaMarcus Aldridge completed his buyout with the Spurs today and Drummond is working on his buyout as we speak. The Celtics currently sit as 8th seed in the East with a 21-23 record. If the Celtics had that record in the West, they would be 11th seed. They are going to have to get a little desperate with either of the two aforementioned names if they be taken seriously this post season. Brad Stevens was once viewed as a top 10 coach in the NBA but has fallen from grace quickly so far this season.
