The Celtics’ doomed 2020-21 season is finally, mercifully over. Now what?
First, the Celtics will have to find a replacement for Brad Stevens, who just succeeded Danny Ainge as President of Basketball Operations (Jason Kidd, Lloyd Pierce, Sam Cassell and Kara Lawson have already emerged as rumored candidates). Once the team has a new coach in place, Boston will then look to build out its roster, which could prove difficult with the star trio of Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Kemba Walker accounting for roughly 2/3 of the team’s $136-million payroll.
With little in the way of financial flexibility, it’s safe to assume the C’s won’t be pursuing top-shelf free agents like Kawhi Leonard or Chris Paul this summer. However, Boston could invest in a mid-tier talent like Evan Fournier, who appeared in 16 games after the Celtics acquired him from Orlando at the March 25th trade deadline.
Fournier’s stint in Beantown this year was admittedly a mixed bag—he averaged 13.0 points on 44.8-percent shooting (in a statistical anomaly, he actually shot better from three-point distance than inside the arc). The 6’7” Frenchman was disastrous at times (he was held scoreless in losses to New Orleans and Charlotte), but finished the year on a relative high note, pouring in 19.9 points per game on elite 54.6-percent shooting over his final seven regular-season contests. After weathering some initial growing pains (a three-week COVID bout did little to help matters), Fournier became a reliable scoring presence for Boston down the stretch, helping fill the void left by injured All-Star Jaylen Brown.
In the aftermath of Wednesday night’s season-ending loss to Brooklyn (which marked the Celtics’ first opening-round defeat since 2016), Fournier was noncommittal on returning next season, but acknowledged enjoying his time in Boston, describing the Celtics as an “A+ organization.”
So what amount would it take to keep Fournier in Boston? According to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (a basketball-centric offshoot of USA Today), Fournier will be targeting a deal in the range of $15-20 million annually which, depending on what the Celtics decide to do with Walker and Marcus Smart (both have been floated as potential trade chips), would put Boston right around the league’s $136.6-million luxury tax threshold. That’s a healthy figure for a player who netted 20 or more points on just four occasions during his two months in Boston, though even at that hefty sum, the 28-year-old might still be the Celtics’ best option.
“It’ll be interesting because they have never been willing to pay the tax, so getting around that will be hard for them,” said a league exec on the condition of anonymity. “If they let [Fournier] walk, there’s no replacement.” Another executive suggested the Spurs could be a fit for Fournier, though $15-20 million-a-year would seem to be a bit rich for San Antonio’s blood. The 2012 first-rounder has never made an All-Star team and probably never will, but at the very least, Fournier remains a competent, starting-caliber NBA wing who can put up points in a hurry.
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