Report: Carmelo-to-Celtics gaining momentum after Gallinari news originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
How can the Celtics replace Danilo Gallinari?
That question is top of mind in Boston after the team announced Gallinari has a torn ACL, which will likely sideline him for most if not all of his first season with the Celtics.
Carmelo Anthony was recently linked to Boston as a potential free-agent signing, and it appears there could be fire behind the smoke. The Boston Globe’s Gary Washburn reported this weekend that the idea of Anthony signing with the Celtics is “starting to gain traction” based on the simple fact that the 38-year-old “may be the best shooting forward left on the market.”
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Anthony and Gallinari indeed have similar skill sets as offense-first power forwards with strong outside shots. Anthony averaged 13.3 points over just 26 minutes per game for the Los Angeles Lakers last season, shooting 44.1 percent from the floor and making 2.2 3-pointers per game at a 37.5 percent clip.
While Gallinari is a younger, taller and more well-rounded version of Anthony at this stage in their careers, Anthony does look like one of the best options in a thin free-agent market and could be signed for the veteran minimum at $2.9 million.
As our Chris Forsberg recently explained, the Celtics are over the luxury tax and would have to pay roughly $13 million in additional taxes to sign Anthony. They could also explore the trade route if they want to give up an asset for a younger impact player.
Either way, it seems likely the C’s will take some sort of action to fill Gallinari’s void; Boston still has the best odds to win the 2023 NBA championship and should do everything in its power to capitalize on its title opportunity.