Re: Mercato e Futuro Celtics
Forsberg: Is Danilo Gallinari the right addition for Celtics in free agency?
BY CHRIS FORSBERG
As a passel of potential midlevel exception targets signed for bigger money than Boston could offer (Kyle Anderson signing for a hefty slice of the bigger midlevel in Minnesota really stung this daydreaming analyst), the Celtics were left to ponder some less sexy options.
NBA free agency: Recapping the most notable Day 1 deals and rumors
The most intriguing player linked to the Celtics was forward Danilo Gallinari. Traded to San Antonio as part of the Dejounte Murray blockbuster, Gallinari finalized a buyout with the Spurs and was reportedly pondering offers from Boston and Chicago for his next team.
Can the soon-to-be 34-year-old big man help Boston’s bench? And is he worth a potential splurge if it requires all of the team's limited midlevel money ($6.4 million)?
The Gallinari good
The 6-foot-10 Gallinari is a flamethrowing power forward who has shot 38.2 percent from beyond the 3-point arc over a 13-year NBA career. That mark jumps to 40.8 percent since 2019. Gallinari's size lets him shoot over smaller defenders, and the Celtics are more than familiar with his ability to get hot …
Gallinari doesn’t wander too far outside his role. He shot 45 percent on corner threes a year ago (but on only 40 total attempts). His 37 percent on non-corner threes was down from 42.3 percent over the past three seasons, but it’s fair to assume he’d get a lot of quality looks playing on a Celtics team helmed by
and
.
Gallinari takes care of the ball and can keep it moving to other shooters. He’s a solid free-throw shooter when he gets there. He can help on the glass. The Hawks’ offensive rating was a blistering 118.4 with Gallinari on the floor last season.
The Gallinari bad
Never more than an average defender and slipping with age, Gallinari immediately would be Boston’s worst defender, though his size negates some of that concern. Opponents shot 48.8 percent against him last season, which was 2.3 percent above expected output.
Playing for the defense-averse Hawks didn’t help Gallinari’s numbers but most notable was opponents shooting 63.6 percent inside of 10 feet (or 4.6 percent above expected) against Gallinari. He held his own better in isolation play than you might guess and wasn’t a liability defending in the pick and roll.
If Gallinari isn’t knocking down shots though, it’s hard to keep him on the floor. Alas, beggars can’t be choosers, and the Celtics might just need more serviceable frontcourt bodies to drive down the minute totals, especially behind 36-year-old
.
The bottom line
Even after signing Andre Drummond, the Bulls preserved enough of the non-taxpayer midevel to outbid the Celtics in pursuit of Gallinari. We’d be leery of throwing the full taxpayer midlevel at him, at least while someone like TJ Warren is still available, but there are certainly worse uses of that money.
Gallinari provides a more consistent bench scoring presence and would have been useful in the NBA Finals. He would give Boston the jolt of size and shooting it needs.
As much as we may quibble with a heightened price tag, he was scheduled to earn $21.5 million this season before his buyout and is still an impact player at his age.
che alla fine si è convinto a mettere sul piatto il contratto di due anni e 13 milioni di dollari desiderato da Danilo. La seconda stagione sarà vincolata da una player option.
