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As the Boston Celtics continue to re-evaluate their off-season plans following Danilo Gallinari’s ACL injury, the team is being linked with a plethora of free agents that could potentially slot in to provide cover for the sharpshooting big man.
Of course, as things currently stand, the Celtics will not be expecting to see Gallinari back on the court this season – because even if he does recover in time for the playoffs, it’s probably not worth slotting him into the line-up.
As such, Boston needs to be honest with themselves – did they see Gallinari spending more of his time at the power forward or center position? Because the answer to that question will help guide them on where to look for potential cover in the free agency market.
Assuming the Celtics decide they need additional big man cover, which was also a concern for some fans before Gallinari got injured, the team could do far worse than acquiring former sixth man of the year, Montrezl Harrell.
“Harrell split last season between Washington and Charlotte, producing 14.1 points with the Wizards and 11.4 with the Hornets. He’s also averaged 5.3 rebounds per contest for his career. Harrell doesn’t provide much defensively, but Boston didn’t sign Gallinari to make an impact on that end, either,” Krivitsky wrote.
While Harrell isn’t the ideal replacement for Gallinari, due to his limited perimeter game, his pitbull style of play off the bench would quickly endear him to Ime Udoka and the Celtics fanbase, assuming he worked hard to remain impactful on defense.
Harrell Puts Legal Troubles Behind Him
A primary reason why Harrell is still available at this late juncture of the off-season is that he has been dealing with legal trouble over the past few months. According to a report by the Charlotte Observer, Harrell is facing felony drug charges after being found with three pounds of vacuum-sealed marijuana during a traffic stop on I-75 in Kentucky.
However, on August 31, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski provided an update on Harrell’s legal situation, noting that his charges had been reduced to a misdemeanor and would be expunged from his record in 12 months should he remain out of legal trouble.
With Harrell’s legal issues now behind him, it won’t be long until teams start circling the high-energy big man as they look to round out their rotation with a quality backup center option who thrives as the roll man in pick-and-roll situations.
DeMarcus Cousins Could be The Better Option
In an era of multi-positional versatility, being a single position player is somewhat of a flaw in itself, especially for teams such as the Celtics, that pride themselves on having diverse rotations that put opposing defenses in tough spots.
As such, Boston could look elsewhere to replace Gallinari’s impact, most notably, towards a big man such as DeMarcus Cousins due to his ability to play both the power forward and center positions. Furthermore, Cousins is capable of converting enough of his three-point attempts to keep opposing defenses honest, while his post-moves and rebounding skills are both underrated assets too.
If the Celtics were genuinely expecting to slot Gallinari in at either the four or five to give the likes of Al Horford and Robert Williams additional rest, it makes sense that the front office would target another player capable of doing so. And, this late into the summer, Cousins projects as the best multi-positional front-court player available.
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