Danilo Gallinari is quite literally seeking out greener pastures. Gallinari, the sharpshooting veteran big man, was traded by the Atlanta Hawks to the San Antonio Spurs in the blockbuster pre-free agency deal that sent Dejounte Murray to the Eastern Conference. From the jump, rumors circulated that Gallinari was not going to spend all that much time in San Antonio, which looks like it is going to spend the next year with one eye on the 2023 NBA Draft.
As such, it was reported that the Spurs would waive Gallinari, after the trade became official. Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reported that once that happened, the Italian forward’s preference was to end up in Boston as a member of the Celtics.
Once the San Antonio Spurs finalize the expected release on forward Danilo Gallinari, his preference is to join the Boston Celtics upon clearing waivers, sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 1, 2022
Sure enough, a week later, the deal officially got done, with Gallinari working out a two-year deal worth just under $14 million with a fully guaranteed player option in the second year.
After clearing waivers, free agent F Danilo Gallinari has agreed on a two-year, $13.3M deal with the Boston Celtics, his agent Michael Tellem of @excelbasketball tells ESPN. Deal is fully guaranteed and includes a player option.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 10, 2022
Gallinari joined the Hawks as a big-name free agent back in 2020. Last season, he appeared in 68 games with 18 starts, and averaged 11.7 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 1.5 assists in 25.3 minutes per game while hitting 43.4 percent of his shot attempts from the field and 38.1 percent of his threes. The Celtics are now almost assuredly done making significant moves after signing Gallinari and trading for Malcolm Brogdon, but will feel like they improved on roster weaknesses by adding another ball-handler in Brogdon and an additional scoring option on the wing in Gallinari.