Trade Scenario No. 1 – Orlando Magic
Boston Celtics Receive: F Aaron Gordon, G/F Evan Fournier, ORL 2021 1st Round Pick, ORL 2023 2nd Round Pick
Orlando Magic Receive: Kemba Walker, BOS 2021 2nd Round Pick
Trading away Kemba Walker may not be that crazy of a move for the Boston Celtics, especially since there are a lot of unknowns about his health and knee injury moving forward. Not only are Aaron Gordon and Evan Fournier two excellent role players, but they are proven players who can play numerous positions on the court.
Given their scoring output and versatility, the Boston Celtics would be receiving the key pieces they need to their rotations in order to make a deep playoff push. While there are plenty of unknowns with Kemba Walker, there are virtually no unknowns with the likes of Aaron Gordon and Fournier as you know what you are getting with these two.
Kemba Walker is owed $34.3M this year and is under contract through the 2022-23 season, assuming he opts into his $37.6M player option for the 2022-23 season. Both Aaron Gordon and Evan Fournier are on expiring contracts this season and if they do not pan out the way Boston hopes, then they have a lot of cap room to go after another All-Star talent in free agency next offseason.
Last season, Evan Fournier was the second-leading scorer on the Orlando Magic and Aaron Gordon was the 4th. Together, these two combined for over 32 points per game and each bring something different to the table.
Evan Fournier is more of a three-point specialist than anything else and in his eight-year career, he has shot 37.5% from three-point range. Aaron Gordon on the other hand is a crazy athletic combo-forward who can play from perimeter to post. His instincts to run the court in transition and push the pace could make the Boston Celtics a crazy athletic team.
If the Celtics do not go out and make a big move, especially with Kemba Walker’s knee issues being a big yellow flag moving forward, then they will end up being the same team once again. This team needs more offensive help and depth, which is why acquiring Aaron Gordon and Evan Fournier could go a long way.
With Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown being primary ball-handlers anyways, the Celtics do not necessarily need a pure point guard like Kemba Walker and could get away with moving Marcus Smart to the starting point guard position with Jeff Teague coming off the bench to back him up. Then, Jaylen Brown could move to shooting guard, Tatum to small forward and then Aaron Gordon can be the team’s starting power-forward.
With Aaron Gordon in the starting rotation, Fournier could then be a 15+ points per game wing coming off the bench and all of a sudden, this roster looks completely better and has a lot more depth and rotation options.
It makes a lot more sense to trade Kemba Walker than it does to keep him, especially since this team has no money to spend in free agency the next few seasons and virtually no reliable bench options. Gordon and Fournier are both on expiring contracts and the worst thing that happens is the Celtics do not win the championship and they have over $30M to spend in free agency next offseason.
