Evan Fournier‘s debut with the Boston Celtics will have to wait, as the newly acquired guard was placed in the NBA’s health and safety protocols on Saturday.
“I don’t really want to get into the specifics of everything, because I don’t know all the answers,” coach Brad Stevens said before the Celtics played the Thunder in Oklahoma City. “As far as frustration, it’s been a very consistent theme for us to be missing people. But hopefully that won’t be long term. We’ll see how this all goes and go from there.”
With Fournier clearing his physical on Friday, it was believed he could make his Celtics debut against the Thunder on Saturday. It’s unclear if Fournier was a positive test or ruled out because of contact tracing. If it’s the latter, per league protocols, he will need to register negative tests for seven days before leaving quarantine.
Fournier was acquired on trade deadline day from the Orlando Magic in exchange for two second-round picks. The 28-year-old guard is averaging a career-high 19.7 points and 3.7 assists this season, including 38.8% from 3 on more than seven attempts per game.