Karalis: With Evan Fournier in & Daniel Theis out, Danny Ainge delays a day of reckoning

Well, Danny Ainge did something. Exactly what is still a bit of a question.

The Boston Celtics acquired Evan Fournier from the Orlando Magic, absorbing him into their traded player exception for two second-round picks. They also traded away Daniel Theis, Javonte Green, and Jeff Teague to get Mo Wagner and Luke Kornet. Boston is reportedly sending out a pair of seconds in this deal as well.

So what does this all mean?

In the short term, it gives Boston some help this season. Fournier is a 6-foot-7 wing shooting 38.8% on 3-pointers and averaging 19.7 points per game on 14.2 shots. For the first time in his career, his true shooting percentage is up over 60 (60.4%), so he's been having himself a nice overall season with the Magic.

The Celtics needed a wing scorer and they got one. They now have the option of making him a sixth man to boost the bench, or slot him in as a starter and have Marcus Smart run the second unit. He can help pick up the slack when Kemba Walker misses back-to-backs, and he can take pressure off of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. If Fournier's scoring can mean a few extra minutes on the bench for those guys, then maybe Boston's messy fourth quarters can be cleaned up a bit.

By getting Fournier via the TPE, Boston was forced to send out Theis, Green, and Teague to clear enough room under the luxury tax. This is something that's been important because it resets the repeater tax clock and could be the difference between keeping Marcus Smart in a couple of years versus losing him.

The departure of Theis means Tristan Thompson and Robert Williams are Boston's remaining centers. Gone are the double-big lineups, meaning Boston can play a more consistent style of basketball. Williams will be slotted in as the starter since Thompson remains in health and safety protocols. Mo Wagner will likely be the third big, and there's no real pressure to play him since he's on an expiring contract.

The Celtics lose a pick-and-pop option, which hurts, but the consistency might be worth more at this point.

The longer-term view is a little less clear. 

This feels like a "kick the can down the road" moment for Danny Ainge. Fournier's in the last year of his deal, making $17.1 million. He turns 29 next season, so it doesn't feel like he's a long-term fit for the Celtics. There are teams that will be looking for a wing with Fournier's size who can score like he can. Ainge is probably hoping he can flip Fournier in a sign-and-trade to create a new traded player exception.

So basically we can go through this all one more time.

This doesn't feel like the most ideal use of the TPE, but if he can swing it while using the rest of it to acquire someone during the draft or the summer, then he can continue pushing out the return for Gordon Hayward.

Right now, Hayward leaving has reportedly cost the Celtics four second-round picks (two in the Hayward deal, two to acquire Fournier). The Celtics can try to recoup them, somehow, but even so, the cost to Boston has grown. Unless Wagner is a player Ainge covets as a potential future rotation player, the long-term vision for the Celtics in the wake of Hayward's departure is still fuzzy.

Fournier helps Boston right now. This year's team will benefit from him being here. How he helps Boston long-term is still very much unclear.

Ainge talked about not using the TPE on an expiring contract and more likely holding off until the summer to use it. He set these expectations himself, and then did the opposite of that. That raises a lot of questions. Something didn't go according to plan.

The Denver Nuggets out-bid the Celtics for Aaron Gordon. Their offer of Gary Harris, R.J. Hampton, and a first-round pick was better than a potential Tristan Thompson, Aaron Nesmith/Romeo Langford, a first-round pick. Harris is a classic "change of scenery" guy who will get all of Fournier's opportunity. Hampton was much more highly touted than Nesmith or Langford.

That happens. Teams get out-bid. But for Ainge, it continues a string of personnel moves gone wrong. The losses of Al Horford and Kyrie Irving set the team back. The recovery acquisition of Kemba Walker was nice, but his knee issues have now made his production in relation to his salary questionable. Losing Hayward for nothing was simply not an option, but chasing the return value dragon is proving costly as well.

Ainge is caught up in a bit of a long-term shell game, trying to move assets around until he can find a big payday and settle all his debts. Fournier will settle the collections calls a bit when he starts pouring in buckets and helping the Celtics turn losses into wins. But if he leaves this summer without Ainge even extending the TPE window, then he's in an even worse situation.

He'll have to pay to move Fournier and get another TPE. Maybe the maneuvering will ultimately lead him to Bradley Beal, but the interest rate on all this borrowing is starting to add up, and he's running out of ways to pay his bills.

(This story was updated to reflect Boston has sent out four second round picks, not six)