Did Celtics wing Evan Fournier’s postseason play cost him a big chunk of his next paycheck?

If it is in the plans of new Boston Celtics team president Brad Stevens to try and re-sign veteran shooting guard Evan Fournier, the offers Stevens might need to match could be smaller than perhaps previously anticipated based on reporting coming out of our sister site HoopsHype.

Michael Scotto reported that rival front offices believe the St. Maurice native is hoping to garner a hefty paycheck on the open market when free agency begins this offseason; “He’s going to look for $15-20 million a year,” said one per Scotto. Expressing doubts on where Fournier might find such a deal, that anonymous executive noted Boston’s aversion to paying the tax for some time now.

“If they let him walk, there’s no replacement,” they added.

"The issue will be what teams with room are going to target him?" asked another skeptical executive. [The] "San Antonio [Spurs] might, but if not, who else will give him north of $10 million?" they queried. "If Fournier can be kept at a price around the non-taxpayer mid-level exception, I think Boston would re-sign him." https://twitter.com/TheCelticsWire/status/1403390312576344064?s=20

Some of this skepticism is due to the former Orlando Magic wing's rough performance in the postseason against the Brooklyn Nets, perhaps unfairly given how little time Fournier had to mesh with his new team due to COVID. And of course, there was the issue of COVID itself, which hit the veteran hard with lingering symptoms that did his on-court product no favors. https://twitter.com/TheCelticsWire/status/1403306057825492995?s=20

"Offensively, like most players against the Nets, he was at least competitive," writes HoopsHype's Bryan Kalbrosky of Fournier's first-round travails. "Fournier ... ranked as the worst among all players who have defended at least 35 possessions in the postseason," adds the HoopsHype analyst, with the Frenchman ending "up being the guy who took on James Harden and Kyrie Irving ... with him on the wrong side of too many highlights." https://twitter.com/TheCelticsWire/status/1403260774898974720?s=20

Did Fournier's bad luck and worse matchups in the 2021 postseason cost him a hefty chunk of his next paycheck? While it might benefit the Celtics' front office if they choose to re-sign him, it did raise questions about how useful he can be against top talent in the postseason around the league. "If [the Celtics] want to run it back, they’ll pay him," opined another anonymous executive per Scotto. "I can’t see him getting $20 million." This post originally appeared on Celtics Wire. Follow us on Facebook! [lawrence-related id=51870,51867,51861,51857] [listicle id=51864]

1

1