The Boston Celtics could further take advantage of adding to their roster, even after pulling off a few touching improvements before Thursday’s 3 p.m. ET. NBA trade deadline.
Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens worked around a limited budget, acquiring Xavier Tillman and Jaden Springer to upgrade Boston’s depth. Tillman provides a big-bodied front-court presence off the bench that’s very active defensively while Springer can deliver energy on both ends of the floor.
Yet, after the dust settled following the deadline craze, the Celtics still walked away with an open roster spot, meaning Boston can still add. Granted, that comes with a limitation — once again. The Celtics cannot pick up any player with a salary over $12.4 million in the buyout market, which cuts down the list of options from which the organization can choose.
That short list of possible candidates even includes ex-Celtics forward Danilo Gallinari, who was waived by the Detroit Pistons hours after the deadline.
Gallinari, 35, signed a two-year, $13.3 million deal with Boston two offseasons ago. However, Gallinari never suited up for a game with the Celtics after he suffered a season-ending torn ACL before the season even started while playing for the Italian national team — two months after joining Boston.
At the time, Gallinari was viewed as a key reserve unit addition, supplying both size and outside shooting to a title-contending Celtics team. But even with a year left on his contract with Boston, the front office used Gallinari as a trading chip, sending him to the Washington Wizards in part of a three-team trade to acquire Kristaps Porzingis.
Even after all that unfolded, the Celtics can still re-acquire Gallinari, whose annual salary this season of $6.6 million fits right into Boston’s ballpark. Not to mention, it’d also provide Gallinari with a favorable position at seizing his first NBA title with retirement quickly looming.
In a split 32-game campaign with the Wizards and Pistons, Gallinari averaged 7.3 points while shooting 35.5% from three. Neither of those teams was an ideal fit for Gallinari considering both franchises are in a rock-bottom state.
Similar to Al Horford’s past situation with the Oklahoma City Thunder a few years back, Gallinari doesn’t have much of a purpose for a team that isn’t in a position to contend. Whereas on a team like the Celtics, his minutes off the bench would be much more valuable, especially once the playoffs begin.
Presumably, the market for Gallinari won’t be all that hot with plenty of buyout candidates to choose from, but that doesn’t mean the Celtics can’t pull off a last-minute snag.
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