Orlando Magic: They won every major trade last season

Trades the Orlando Magic won: 1. Evan Fournier to the New York Knicks

Probably the least successful of the three deals, as the Magic only got a pair of second-round picks from the Boston Celtics in exchange for Fournier. However much like Gordon, it also meant they didn’t have to think about paying him this summer. Instead, it was the New York Knicks who gave Fournier four years and $73 million.

A number not as frightening as Gordon’s, but which would have locked the Magic into a player who certainly had his moments, but just did not fit with the long-term vision currently in place here. Fournier was great for bailing the team out of bad offensive possessions in a way that none of his teammates could.

He was a creator and ran a nice two-man game with Vucevic (much to the disdain of some, which led to the “Euro Bros” nickname being used disparagingly). But by the same token he also sometimes took too much out of the ball or tried to force the action when it simply wasn’t there. Ironically he got more love than Gordon for this reason, even if Gordon actually did more helpful things on the court on a nightly basis.

Even though the return wasn’t great for a player who played 435 games for the organization (and who was averaging a career-high 19.7 points per night before being traded), it was truly never going to get any better than that. The Celtics saw Fournier as a rental to try and help them during what they hoped would be a nice playoff run. It was not.

It then fell on the Knicks, riding some momentum for the first time since Carmelo Anthony was in town, to pay for a player who can certainly help them next year. At 28 he is in his prime, and although the Knicks are far from the finished article, fans have been happy to see them draft reasonably well, not overpay on stuffed players, and build around Julius Randle.

Fournier will help the Knicks to win more games next season, and he will be comfortable working around Randle to score and facilitate some as well. Bringing him back would also have been a disaster for the Magic, who need to keep their cap clean to bring back the right young guys as they are eligible for new deals and in the not too distant future, add the right veterans too. Yes, the Orlando Magic really did win every big trade last year.