The Boston Celtics acquired Evan Fournier from the Orlando Magic on Thursday ahead of the NBA’s trade deadline.
In order to add the veteran wing, Boston sent Orlando two second-round draft picks and Jeff Teague, using a large portion of their $28.5 million traded player exception to absorb his deal, leaving about $11 million left to use.
This came as a bit of a suprise.
Throughout the season, as recently as last month, both president of basketball operations Danny Ainge and Celtics majority owner Wyc Grousbeck insinuated that the team may wait until the offseason to use the massive TPE generated from Gordon Hayward’s departure.
But when the opportunity to bring in Fournier presented itself, adding some much-needed offense off the bench, Ainge made the decision to go for it.
“I think it’s a good use of our TPE. … We don’t acquire Evan with the idea that he’ll be with us just for this year,’ Ainge said Friday in a post-deadline press conference. “We acquire him the with idea he could be here potentially for a long time, like all the players we acquire.
“With Evan, in particular, I thought this opportunity was unique, to add a player of his caliber. We’ve talked often about shooting with size. Here’s a 6-foot-7 kid who’s a good shooter and a good playmaker. He can handle the ball. Just another creator for us. Very consistent player, and we’re excited to add him.”
Fournier could make his debut with Boston as soon as Saturday when the team travels to Oklahoma City to take on the Thunder.
