Boston Celtics: The future of Evan Fournier with the Celtics

The Boston Celtics became more versatile when they acquired Evan Fournier on the NBA’s trading deadline day. Despite only playing in four games so far since being in Boston, having Fournier on the court with the starters can be a game-changer for the Celtics moving forward towards a potential playoff run.

Fournier is an established veteran scorer in the NBA. With his presence on the court accompanied by Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and Kemba Walker, it will immediately stretch and open up the floor more for the Celtics. Creating more space as opposing defenses are going to have to respect the fact that there are four capable shooters and scorers on the floor at once.

Looking ahead, the Boston Celtics can thrive with Evan Fournier in the starting lineup long term.

Inserting Fournier into the starting lineup would push Marcus Smart to come off the bench. Smart would provide direction and scoring to the second unit. Having his leadership commanding the way for the young second group could prove to be beneficial for the Celtics down the stretch. Smart is a very balanced player and can provide whatever role is needed of him at any point in the game.

Smart, however, has provided a solid amount of offense over the past two years. He’s averaging 13.4 points per game and shooting a career-best 34.9 percent from behind the arc this season. The Celtics ended up relying on Smart to score points or make plays from time to time, regardless of the fact that he’s also expected to be the team’s top defender every game.

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Another matter is sometimes the roles of Kemba Walker and Smart seem to overlap when they’re on the court together. The offense runs smoothly when Smart is being more of a playmaker, but that’s what Walker is supposed to be doing. And although it can never hurt to have two guards with that play style in the starting lineup, that’s not necessarily in the best interest of the Celtics.

The Boston Celtics need scorers around Walker in the starting lineup to let him run plays within the offense. There’s been too many pull-up 3’s and not enough driving to the basket or play-making for a majority of this season. Inserting Fournier into the lineup with Tatum and Brown could give the Celtics more offensive opportunities in the starting lineup.

Although Smart has been productive with the starting group, it could prove to benefit the overall team with him coming off the bench. Along with Smart’s knowledge of the game, his leadership and direction would be a huge upgrade to the second rotation for the Celtics.

For that to happen, however, Fournier needs to be available to play. But due to health and safety protocols, Fournier has only been able to play in four games since being traded to Boston. Although it’s a small sample size, you can still visualize what the Celtics could be with Fournier on the team from start to finish.

The future of the Boston Celtics would thrive by signing Evan Fournier in the summer

Boston Celtics general manager and president of basketball operations, Danny Ainge, said that he wouldn’t have acquired Fournier without the strong possibility of re-signing him in the offseason, as Fournier will be an unrestricted free agent in the summer.

"“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,’. We acquire him with the idea he could be here potentially for a long time, like all the players we acquire.” – Danny Ainge, via Nick Gods of Yahoo Sports"

The Boston Celtics have strung together an impressive run throughout the month of April. While winning six out of their last seven games and climbing the ladder in the Eastern Conference, the Celtics have defeated the New York Knicks, Minnesota Timberwolves, Denver Nuggets, and the Portland Trail Blazers.

The Celtics have a great team with young franchise pillars. Fournier recognizes that and can potentially see himself being in Boston for a long time. This would be the best-case scenario for the Celtics.

It would be great for the Boston Celtics to sign Fournier in the summer. He’s the experienced veteran that this team needs most. Fournier’s a team-first player who just needs more time to build chemistry with the core group of the Celtics. But once that happens… watch out!