C’s remain in the hunt for Gallinari
The Celtics went into the first night of free agency with the simple goal of adding scoring and shooting depth still very much at hand.
A league source told the Herald on Thursday that one of their main targets was Danilo Gallinari, and as of early Friday evening the 6-10 wing forward remained a very real possibility. According to Bleacher Report’s Jake Fischer, the Celtics and Chicago were the 33-year- old’s top two choices.
The Celtics’ main bid for the Italian star was their $6.5 million taxpayer mid-level exception, and their deep playoff prospects. The same credentials, of course, put them in contention for such free agent shooters and scorers as Donte Divincenzo and T. J. Warren.
Galinari has struggled to overcome injury for much of his career, though his 66 games for the Hawks last season were his most since playing 68 in 2018-19 for the Clippers.
His fit for a Celtics team in need of bench scoring and playmaking is undeniable. At one point earlier in his career considered a major scorer, the 6-foot-10 Gallinari is a career 38% 3-point shooter and a gifted playmaker off the wing.
The only obstacle, especially on aging legs, may be Gallinari’s ability to defend in Ime Udoka’s relentless switching scheme, though the Celtics have clearly decided that their offense needs help.
The NBA didn’t waste time, as top and lower level free agents signed with teams within hours of the start of free agency Thursday night.
This included a number of supposed Celtics targets, from combo guard Gary Harris deciding to return to Orlando and Patty Mills, a
free agent target of the C’s from a year ago, choosing to return to Brooklyn despite the league- shaking strife in that organization following Kevin Durant’s
trade demand.
The Celtics, by virtue of Durant’s close ties with Jayson Tatum, Marcus Smart, Jaylen Brown and coach Ime Udoka, put them in the market for the Nets star, though presumably Brown would have to be sent to Brooklyn to make such a deal work.