The Celtics set out to add bench scoring to their roster this summer, and they're going to do it by adding Danilo Gallinari.
In a way, Brad Stevens carries on a storied Celtics tradition of signing guys who have tortured them in he past. You might remember Gallinari from the night he hit 10 of 12 3-pointers against Boston, scoring 38 points in a 15 point win during Atlanta’s Cinderella Eastern Conference Finals season.
Gallinari, also known as "The Rooster" because Gallo means rooster in Italian, is a short-term solution for Boston, reportedly signing on a two-year mid-level deal worth $13 million, the second year being a player option. If he has a big season, he’ll opt out and go for more money next season, which is probably why Boston was willing to incentivize him that way. If it doesn’t work out, then there will likely be a way to dump him in the offseason or just let him sit on the bench.
Boston ultimately gets a bench scorer who, at almost 34 years old, is still productive. He shot 38% from deep last season in 25 minutes per game. At 6’10”, he gives Boston some size and a stretch-big option to give Al Horford some rest.
However, he doesn’t exactly add to Boston’s defensive identity, a stated goal for the team. Ime Udoka will have to adjust his schemes when Gallinari is on the floor, because no one will want him to switch onto any perimeter players. He’ll do ok in some situations, not so great in others.
This shows just how much the Celtics valued shooting over other skills. For all that they’ve said, it was obvious in the playoffs that not having a reliable shooter was a big weakness for Boston. Opponents' ability to load up on Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown without repercussion led to cascading errors and turnovers. Adding shooting with some size at least gets Boston the scoring they're looking for while forcing people to shoot over a big guy if he’s put in that situation.
Other Celtics targets are gone. Bruce Brown went to Denver. Otto Porter, Jr. went to Toronto (where every swing man with a plus wingspan goes). The more versatile guys are off the board. Gallinari addresses a need for shooting and scoring off the bench in a very short-term way.
In a way, you can look at this like insurance against a lack of internal growth from some of Boston’s bench guys. Gallinari is proven, and can play until the unproven guys show what they have. If those guys don’t have anything, then Boston can move on from them later and lean on Gallinari to carry the load until they pivot.
This is a good signing, especially at that price. Personally, I would have preferred a couple of others who signed elsewhere, but they made their choices and the Celtics had to fill a need. Gallinari does that. He’s an elite shooter with size, and adding somewhere around 12 points off the bench will win Boston more games. Is he flawed? Yes, but everyone at the Taxpayer MLE is. It will be Udoka’s job to figure out how to minimize those. ‘
Now let’s see what’s next. Boston has no free agent money aside from minimum deals, so it’s on to their TPE, which could get caught up in the Kevin Durant trade drama. Boston could operate on the edges of that hoping to snag a useful player or two when salaries need to be dumped.