NY Knicks: Should they have traded for Evan Fournier?

While the NY Knicks were fairly silent on Thursday’s trading deadline, the Orlando Magic were at the center of the action. They began a complete rebuild, dealing All-Star Center Nikola Vucecic to the Chicago Bulls, Forward Aaron Gordon to the Denver Nuggets, and Guard Evan Fournier to the Boston Celtics.

Fournier was the only former Magic player to be linked to the Knicks, as SNY’s Ian Begley reported the two teams discussed a move as recently as Tuesday. In an injury-plagued season, Fournier is putting up decent numbers, averaging a career-high 19.7 points per game on 46.1 / 38.8 / 79.9% shooting. He’s been getting into a groove recently, averaging 24.7 points in the month of March.

As opposed to the grand packages Chicago and Denver had to assemble, Boston was able to acquire the 28-year-old Frenchman for only two second-round picks. There’s also something to be said for Orlando dealing with Boston – as the Celtics’ front office has earned the reputation for backing out of trades and being difficult to work with.

NY Knicks: Would Evan Fournier have been worth it?

All of this has led to frustrations among some New York fans. If the Celtics could have Fournier for only two second-rounders, why couldn’t the Knicks? Leon Rose and company did make one move, dealing Austin Rivers to the Oklahoma City Thunder while acquiring Terrance Ferguson and a second-round pick as part of a larger three-team trade. However, the NY Knicks played it safe.  The front office could have gone either way.  Let’s look at what they were thinking.