Evan Fournier suggested as potential Bulls buyout target

With the trade deadline in the rearview mirror, Evan Fournier was suggested as a potential Chicago Bulls buyout target.

The trade deadline has come and gone, and for the third year in a row, the Chicago Bulls did nothing. Despite their overall lack of competitiveness (stuck in the race for the Play-In Tournament), the Bulls kept all of their assets – even DeMar DeRozan and Andre Drummond, both of whom are in the final year of their contract and will be unrestricted free agents this summer.

However, they could still look to add pieces to this roster, as a bunch of players have hit the buyout market post-trade deadline. If they truly want to improve heading into the postseason, adding a guy could help their overall roster construction.

Elias Schuster of Bleacher Nation suggested that the Bulls could potentially target Evan Fournier on the buyout market, particularly because of his friendship with Nikola Vucevic.

“After appearing in 80 games for New York during his first year with the organization, head coach Tom Thibodeau opted to make the veteran a benchwarmer,” Schuster wrote. “Fournier has now played just 30 total games over the past three seasons. Theoretically, he should have some good basketball left in the tank. Fournier is a 37.8 percent career 3-point shooter on 5.2 attempts per game.

“The swingman’s defense can leave a lot to be desired, but he does possess solid size at six-foot-seven and plays with decent hustle. I could see a world where he bolsters a banged-up Chicago team that needs more bench scoring. Not to mention, he already has great chemistry with Vooch!”

Adding Fournier’s three-point shooting and veteran presence to the lineup could be beneficial for the Bulls.

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3 Buyout/waived players Spurs should target post-trade deadline

Here are three players the San Antonio Spurs could look to sign post-trade deadline.

Though the San Antonio Spurs had a relatively tame trade deadline, they did, in fact, make a move. The Spurs sent Doug McDermott to the Indiana Pacers for Marcus Morris and a second-round pick. Morris will be bought out by the Spurs, meaning he won’t end up suiting up for San Antonio this season.

Morris’ inevitable buyout in San Antonio means they will have an open roster spot and could actually look to add a buyout player themselves. The Spurs won’t be pushing for a playoff spot this season, but adding talent next to Victor Wembanyama could help his development moving forward.

With that in mind, here are three potential buyout candidates the Spurs could look to target for the final portion of the season.

Dallas Mavericks forward Grant WIlliams becomes fifth Boston Celtics alum traded on 2024 NBA deadline

Williams joins Gordon Hayward, Dennis Schroder, Kelly Olynyk, and Evan Fournier among Boston alums dealt today.

A fifth former Boston Celtics alumnus is on the move today. Ex-Celtics forward Grant Williams is reportedly joining the likes of Gordon Hayward (from the Charlotte Hornets to the Oklahoma City Thunder), Dennis Schroder (from the Toronto Raptors to the Brooklyn Nets), Evan Fournier (from the New York Knicks to the Detroit Pistons), and Kelly Olynyk (from the Utah Jazz to the Raptors) in being dealt today.

Per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Williams is being sent by the Dallas Mavericks to his hometown’s Charlotte with guard Seth Curry, and a lightly protected 2027 first round pick for Hornets power forward PJ Washington.

The Celtics have had conflicting reports whether they will conduct any further business before the 3 p.m. ET moratorium for moving plays this season arrives, but Boston will be facing a number of former players on new teams in the near future regardless.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ

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Four Boston Celtics alumni on the move on the NBA’s 2024 trade deadline

There has not been much action on trade deadline day for the Boston Celtics after having dealt for Memphis Grizzlies big man Xavier Tillman, Sr. the day before, but four former Celtics are on the move.

There has not been much action on trade deadline day for the Boston Celtics after having dealt for Memphis Grizzlies big man Xavier Tillman, Sr. the day before, but four former Celtics are on the move. One of the four, former Celtics center Kelly Olynyk, has been traded from the Utah Jazz with “guard Ochai Agbaji to the Toronto Raptors for Kira Lewis, Otto Porter and a 2024 first-round pick,” according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

The other, former Boston forward Gordon Hayward, has been dealt from the Charlotte Hornets to the Oklahoma City Thunder for guard Tre Mann and forward Davis Bertans, wing Vasilije Micic and draft compensation, also reported by Wojnarowski.

The third is onetime Celtics floor general Dennis Schroder, who is being flipped with Thad Young by the Toronto Raptors for Spencer Dinwiddie, again per Woj.

Finally, The Athletic’s Shams Charania reports that former Boston wing Evan Fournier is part of a package including Quentin Grimes, Malachi Flynn and two second round picks that the New York Knicks are sending to the Detroit Pistons for Bojan Bogdanovic and Alec Burks.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ

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Who are the highest-ranked European players to suit up for the Boston Celtics?

The Boston Celtics are no stranger to signing, drafting, or trading for international players.

The Boston Celtics are no stranger to signing, drafting, or trading for international players, with some proving to be absolutely critical parts of the teams that have won a league-record 17 titles over the decades.

But which of them were among the highest-ranked European players of all time over that stretch of nearly eight decades? With a reputation — especially in the 1980s and 1990s — of being “soft” and overly technical players utterly underserved based on how many have played on making the leap to the NBA, the number might have been higher, but in a recent such exercise put together by the staff of our sister site HoopsHype, there were still quite a few Celtics alumni listed.

Let’s take a look at which and where they were ranked.

On this day: Marcus Smart, Marcus Banks, Darren Tillis, Carlos Clark debut; Fournier born

On this day in Celtics history, Marcus Smart, Marcus Banks, Darren Tillis, Carlos Clark debut, and Evan Fournier was born

On this day in Boston Celtics history, veteran guard Marcus Smart made his debut for the team in a 121-105 win for the team. It came fittingly against the Brooklyn Nets, with whose pick the Celtics had used to draft the Flower Mound, Texas native out of Oklahoma State in the draft held earlier that summer.

The former Cowboy played just under 28 minutes in the win — a considerable stretch for a rookie at any point, never mind a debut performance. The Texan scored 10 points on 7-of-3 shooting, including going 1-for-4 from beyond the arc in a foreshadowing of his first few seasons with the team, and pulled down 2 rebounds, and as many assists.

Smart also nabbed an impressive 4 steals that foreshadowed his future with the team as a defensive specialist.

Every Boston Celtics jersey in team history worn by ONLY one player

This is every player in Celtics history who was the only player to wear their jersey number.

The Boston Celtics have more retired jerseys than any other team in the NBA does, and given that knowledge, it might surprise you that they have plenty of jerseys only worn by one player in the entire 75-year history of the team.

Of course, a few of them are among those retired jerseys, but quite a few of them are not. As we draw near to the end of the 2023 offseason series of every jersey ever worn by a Boston Celtics player in the regular season, we would of course be remiss if we skipped out on these loners.

Let’s take a look at those most unique of Celtics jerseys throughout the years.

Who are the best international players to play for the Boston Celtics?

From Charlie Hoefer to Alaa Abdenaby to Rick Fox to Kristaps Porzingis, there has been no shortage of players who were born abroad who have worn the green and white.

The Boston Celtics are a storied franchise for more than just their titles. They have been a trailblazing team in terms of signing and fielding players from all over the world, a philosophy that started in their first season.

From Charlie Hoefer to Alaa Abdelnaby to Rick Fox to Kristaps Porzingis, there has been no shortage of players born abroad who have worn the green and white.

But who were the best and who were the worst? What criteria should we use to judge them across eras? In the spirit of the annual arrival of #RankingSeason, the thing to do is try.

And try the hosts of the CLNS Media “How Bout Them Celtics!” did on a recent episode.

Take a look at the clip embedded above to hear how they assessed the international Celtics of all time.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ

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Twitter reacts to France getting eliminated from World Cup: ‘What happened to Rudy Gobert?’

Here’s how Twitter reacted to France getting eliminated in the group stage of the FIBA World Cup.

France has been eliminated from the FIBA World Cup in the group stages after Latvia beat them 88-86 in Game 2.

One of the favorites to win it all has been eliminated after just two games in the competition.

Here’s how Twitter reacted to France’s incredible failure.

Where do Boston Celtics alumni stack up vs. the highest-paid shooting guards in NBA history?

With two distinct epochs of contention in the modern era — the only period in league history that saw players earn enough to have a chance at making such a list — that is no coincidence

When it comes to the highest-paid shooting guards in NBA history, the Boston Celtics have had a few of them on their roster over the course of the recent history of the storied ball club.

With two distinct epochs of contention in the modern era — the only period in league history that saw players earn enough to have a chance at making such a list — that is no coincidence. But who were the best-paid 2 guards in the history of the association, and where do Celtics alumni stack up against them? Thanks to a new assessment to such an end by HoopsHype’s Dionysis Aravantinos, we know the answer to both questions.

Let’s take a look at where Boston alums rate vs. the other top-earning shooting guards in the history of the league.