The Boston Celtics are eagerly awaiting the arrival of one of their newest teammates, Evan Fournier.
The team traded for the former Orlando Magic wing ahead of Thursday’s NBA trade deadline. Though he’s on an expiring contract, the Celtics hope he’ll re-sign, looking to him to give the team a bit of a jolt.
Fournier comes in offering a skillset long coveted by the Celtics: scoring with size to help the bench with some offense. Brad Stevens doesn’t know exactly what Boston’s lineups will look like with the addition, but imagines the 28-year-old Frenchman will have a major role.
“He’ll be a high-minutes player,” the Celtics head coach said Friday ahead of their game against the Milwaukee Bucks. “And, you know, we’re certainly going to count on him to do what he does. I think it’s been pretty evident that bench scoring, whatever form it comes in, whether he’s off the bench or the others off the bench, is a necessity. And so I think that that’ll be a real positive, and we’re excited that he’s joining us.”
Stevens said deciding how this revamped team best fits together will take some time to learn, as he’s only had a chance to text with Fournier and briefly speak on the phone.
Fournier is in Boston getting his physical, but potentially could be in Oklahoma City for the Celtics’ game against the Thunder on Saturday, team president of basketball operations Danny Ainge shared.
Whenever Fournier does join his new team, they’ll be throwing him into the mix instantly.
“We’ll treat it a little bit differently with Evan, he’s just gonna get thrown in there, and we’re going to ask him to kind of learn,” Stevens said of Fournier’s experience. “He’s played in the league for a long time.”
