Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports
Spurs Waive Danilo Gallinari, Who Will Officially Sign with Celtics When He Reaches Free Agency
With so much to sort through, including finalizing the trade that sent Dejounte Murray to the Hawks and Danilo Gallinari along with a package of three first-round picks and a first-round pick swap to San Antonio, waiving Gallinari was understandably lower on the Spurs' priority list.
But with Friday being the last day to waive the 13-year NBA veteran before his $21.5 million contract for next season became guaranteed, San Antonio made sure to check this item of business off its to-do list before incurring a rather expensive late fee.
When Gallinari clears waivers on Sunday at 5 p.m. ET, he will reach free agency and officially sign with the Celtics. According to Davide Chinellato, NBA editor for La Gazzetta dello Sport, Gallinari will join Boston on a two-year, $13 million deal with a player option for the second season. The Celtics will use the taxpayer mid-level exception to add him to their roster.
The six-foot-ten forward has a career scoring average of 15.6 points per game, and he's a career 38.2 percent three-point shooter on 5.1 attempts per contest.
Gallinari's also very effective on catch-and-shoot threes, as evidenced by him knocking down 41.9 percent of the 3.6 attempts he had of this nature last season, per NBA.com.
Furthermore, he drilled 45.5 percent of the 1.5 wide-open shots he took from beyond the arc and converted his 2.4 open threes at a 35.4 percent clip, per NBA.com.
That ability to capitalize on open to wide-open catch-and-shoot threes is a puzzle piece the Celtics have sought to add to complement Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.
His overall capabilities as a scorer, including utilizing his size to shield off defenders in the low post, then facing up and shooting over them, will also go a long way for his new team. Boston's bench ranked in the bottom five in points per game in the regular season, averaging 30.2 per contest. In the playoffs, they ranked 14th out of 16 teams, providing only 22.5 points, according to NBA.com.
Further Reading
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With Thomas Bryant Off the Board, Here's Who the Celtics Might Add at Center
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Celtics Retain Sam Hauser, Addressing Their Need for Another Layer of Forward Depth
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Celtics Address Multiple Needs with Malcolm Brogdon Trade
Danilo Gallinari Reportedly Prefers to Join Celtics Upon Clearing Waivers
