The Boston Celtics have eyes for Oklahoma City Thunder forward Danilo Gallinari, reports Bleacher Report’s Eric Pincus.
The 31-year-old big man joins a growing list of players Boston has reportedly been keeping tabs on, including the Detroit Pistons’ center Andre Drummond and Washington Wizards’ forward Davis Bertans.
The asking price of any deal for the Italian swingman would require dealing Gordon Hayward or Marcus Smart, as he is earning $22.6 million this season and would therefore require at least $17.6 million in salary to keep such a deal CBA-legal.
Even cobbling together Boston’s four biggest salaries after Marcus Smart would not reach that threshold, so any deal for Gallinari’s expiring contract would require the Texan guard or his teammate Hayward.
The reported interest is curious, as the former sixth overall pick would not be much of an upgrade over Smart or Hayward at 18 points, 5.6 boards and 2.2 assists per game this season.
It also wouldn’t put Boston in a better situation in terms of retaining value, as Gallinari’s deal is guaranteed to put the forward on the free agent market this summer.
Smart, on the other hand, is locked up until the 2021-22 season on a good value contract, and Hayward at least has a chance to opt-in to the final year of his contract this summer for $34.1 million.
Add in the psychological importance of the Flower Mound native and that you’s have to include other players and probably draft assets, and it seems this is another potential trade to monitor, but with less urgency.
