After agreeing to a surprising trade that sent Nikola Vucevic to the Chicago Bulls earlier this morning, the Orlando Magic are showing no signs of slowing down. The franchise’s path to a full-scale rebuild continued shortly thereafter with the announcement that Evan Fournier had been traded to the Boston Celtics.
With Aaron Gordon still awaiting his NBA Trade Deadline fate (rumored to Denver), the Magic are selling left and right. Read on for more on this second deal that sends Evan Fournier to Boston.
Celtics Acquire Talented Scorer in Evan Fournier
This season has largely fallen short of expectations for the Boston Celtics. Following a loss to the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday night, the Celtics entered Thursday sitting in 8th place in the Eastern Conference, with a record of 21-23. While this is satisfactory enough to qualify for the postseason, it’s far from desirable for a team that went all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals last year.
With Kemba Walker struggling after offseason knee surgery, the Celtics needed to add some offense at the NBA trade deadline. Acquiring Evan Fournier in this deal with the Orlando Magic helps them do just that. While he has missed various stints of games with injury this season, Fournier has produced when available. He is averaging 14.4 points per game on the year and should slot in nicely as an added option alongside established Celtics stars Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.
Magic Receive Multiple Draft Picks in Trade
For the Magic, the focus is clearly on the future. Orlando landed a pair of first-round picks in the Vucevic trade earlier Thursday morning. The team further built up its draft capital in this Evan Fournier trade. The Magic received two second-round picks from the Celtics in exchange for Fournier. Further details including the year of those picks have not yet been disclosed.
Update: it was later announced the Magic will also receiver veteran point guard Jeff Teague in the trade. However, he will not report to Orlando, as the Magic make him a free agent.
