Getty Danilo Gallinari, Boston Celtics
The Boston Celtics officially introduced Danilo Gallinari and Malcolm Brogdon on July 12, with the pair speaking highly of the opportunity in front of them.
While Brogdon has taken the headlines, it’s Gallinari who projects to fill a bigger area of need in the immediate term – as Boston’s lack of secondary playmaking only became an issue once the post-season was underway.
The veteran forward’s shooting ability, and knack for knowing when to attack closeouts will be a huge addition to a Celtics roster that often struggled with perimeter scoring off the bench last season. Furthermore, it would seem that Gallinari is fuelled by the prospect of competing for a championship, as he took to Twitter on July 13 to send a message to Celtics fans around the world.
Breathing the history of basketball 🏀
I’ll do my best to write my name on it!
“Breathing the history of basketball, I’ll do my best to write my name on it,” Gallinari Tweeted.
Boston will be hoping that Gallinari’s floor spacing ability and veteran leadership can help impact a bench unit that was prone to stagnation last season, while also hoping that his career 38.2 three-point percentage remains true.
Gallinari Grew up a Celtics Fan
During his introductory press conference, Gallinari revealed that he grew up as a Celtics fan, due to his and his father’s affinity for Larry Bird.
“When you think about the Celtics, I grew up with my dad, since I was a little kid, being a Celtics fan, being a Larry Bird fan. So, when the Celtics came on the table, it was always a no-brainer. And when you see what’s going on around – the banners, the history, and everything the Celtics are about, it was an easy choice…The first meeting when I got drafted by the Knicks, Donny Walsh was the GM, and he gave me a Larry Bird CD, and he said look at these videos every day and see what you can do…I looked at those tapes every day,” Gallinari told the media during his introductory press conference.
While it’s highly unlikely Gallinari has the impact that Bird did during his time in Boston, the Celtics will be hoping that a reliable three-point shooting stroke, ability to knock down mid-range jumpers and rebound at a reasonable level will give their bench unit everything they were missing last season.
Stevens Has ‘Green Light’ to Make More Moves
As things currently stand, the Celtics have three open roster spots, and they’re still short in the wing and center positions. As such, it’s fair to assume Brad Stevens and the front office will look to improve one of those areas before the season gets underway.
When speaking to the media on July 12, Stevens’ noted how Boston’s ownership group have given him the ‘green light’ to spend what is needed to help get the Celtics another banner – something the team fell two games short of this past season, when they lost to the Golden State Warriors.
Brad Stevens on another potential free agency signing:
“To add from here, we’ve talked about, obviously, it’s great to have the green light to continue to add at any which way we need.
But one of the things I’ll continue to focus on is adding without giving away…”
“They’ve been great about that this whole time. It’s been, whatever we need to do. Whatever we need to do to try to maximize our opportunities and we obviously have a really good core, a really good team. Fortunate to make these two really good additions and we wouldn’t be able to do that without that commitment from them. I think that’s been—I’ve had the green light this whole time to make those calls,” Stevens explained.
Adding Brogdon and Gallinari should be viewed as a successful post-season for the Celtics, but if they can add a veteran center to their rotation, and do so without giving up any of their core, then this would be a dream summer for Ime Udoka and his coaching staff.