[high floorParticipant]

Like many others, I greeted the trade that sent Arron Afflalo to Denver for Evan Fournier with a lot of skepticism. Afflalo had just completed a borderline All Star season, and there were rumors surrounding AA that he could be acquired for elite talent or lottery picks in different scenarios this season and in 2012-2013 such as:

*Eric Bledsoe (when he was on the Clippers)
*Harrison Barnes (GSW declined)
*Gerald Henderson and the 9th Pick,
*#1 Pick (AA, #4, #12)

Then on the morning of June 26, Orlando pulled the trigger on a deal for… Evan Fournier? Really?? After the initial letdown I delved into some advanced stats and game logs on NBA.com, and I began to see the potential. When Fournier played in between 30-38 minutes per game, he averaged 18.6 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 3.0 assists while shooting over 42% from 3 point range. Add to the fact that he’s only 21 years old, is under team control for 2 more seasons, and that Orlando will have a track meet for an offense in 2014-15, the decision to deal for him becomes more evident. Take a look at 3 of his game logs during the second half last year:

*April 6th versus Houston – 26 Points, 4 Rebounds, 4 Assists, Six 3’s
*February 23rd versus Sac – 27 Points, 4 Rebounds, 5 Assists, Four 3’s
*February 20th versus Pho – 25 Points, 8 Rebounds, 4 Assists, Three 3’s

Was there financial motivation in the deal? Absolutely. The Orlando Magic’s prime as a team is not going to parallel Afflalo’s prime, and I can see why they would not want to commit big money to Afflalo when players like Oladipo, Vucevic, Gordon & Payton, Harris (and hopefully Fournier) will prove their worth and eventually need big raises in the next 2-3 seasons. If Fournier gets near 30MPG next season, I believe we’ll see a young player that could be a key piece to an emerging team on the verge of contending within the next few years.

[arshavin123Participant]

 Orlando’s GM may have found another good young player like he did with Tobias Harris..he is taking on young players with potential and giving them a chance while rebuilding..could be a steal of this trade..

[arshavin123Participant]

 Orlando’s GM may have found another good young player like he did with Tobias Harris..he is taking on young players with potential and giving them a chance while rebuilding..could be a steal of this trade..

[juves4783Participant]

as a nuggets fan, i think it’s a win-win scenario.  fournier is a long, talented scorer.  meh on defense but still has potential on both ends at 21.  thought bryan shaw was going to tap more out of fournier since shaw was given a lot of credit for paul george’s progression.  it appeared to me (from the games i went to) that shaw spent a lot of time on quincy miller and tim mozgov.  both had pretty good years as well.  i like what orlando is doing.  they are almost following the mold of others and picking up players to go position-less.  payton has length to play pg and sg.  oladipo dabbled at pg last year.  fournier has the size to play some sf.  harris and gordon can go pf/sf.  they should be fun to watch (although they may not be very good).

on the nuggs end, the iggy trade has basically come full circle.  we got afflalo back and he’s a nice compliment to ty lawson as a spot up shooter in transition and another scorer in the half court game.  his defense has fallen off a little bit, but he’s much better than foye.  the nuggs have to be the deepest team in the league with ty law, nate rob, afflalo, foye, gallo, chandler, q miller, faried, arthur, hickson, mcgee, mozgov and developmental guys like gary harris, eric green (2nd rounder from a year ago) and nurkic.

 

 

    

[juves4783Participant]

as a nuggets fan, i think it’s a win-win scenario.  fournier is a long, talented scorer.  meh on defense but still has potential on both ends at 21.  thought bryan shaw was going to tap more out of fournier since shaw was given a lot of credit for paul george’s progression.  it appeared to me (from the games i went to) that shaw spent a lot of time on quincy miller and tim mozgov.  both had pretty good years as well.  i like what orlando is doing.  they are almost following the mold of others and picking up players to go position-less.  payton has length to play pg and sg.  oladipo dabbled at pg last year.  fournier has the size to play some sf.  harris and gordon can go pf/sf.  they should be fun to watch (although they may not be very good).

on the nuggs end, the iggy trade has basically come full circle.  we got afflalo back and he’s a nice compliment to ty lawson as a spot up shooter in transition and another scorer in the half court game.  his defense has fallen off a little bit, but he’s much better than foye.  the nuggs have to be the deepest team in the league with ty law, nate rob, afflalo, foye, gallo, chandler, q miller, faried, arthur, hickson, mcgee, mozgov and developmental guys like gary harris, eric green (2nd rounder from a year ago) and nurkic.

 

 

    

[sportspolymathParticipant]

 I’ve liked what I’ve seen, and I usally am not a fan of Euro players.

[sportspolymathParticipant]

 I’ve liked what I’ve seen, and I usally am not a fan of Euro players.

[Author]

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