According to Bleacher Report’s Jake Fischer, the Chicago Bulls and Boston Celtics could be the finalists for veteran sharpshooter Danilo Gallinari.
The Bulls are reportedly willing to offer most of their current non-taxpayer MLE, which checks in a little over what Boston is offering. However, the reigning Eastern Conference champions apparently remain Gallinari’s preferred destination.
The Sun-Times’ Joe Cowley also notes that a Gallinari decision could be coming soon, while NBC Sports Chicago’s K.C. Johnson reiterates that they are in the mix:
Here’s a little bit about Gallinari’s potential fit in Chicago from a prior post:
Gallinari has built a career around his reliable 3-point shot. The big man has knocked down 38.2 percent of his long-range attempts over the course of his career, and he’s shot upward of 40.0 percent over his last four seasons combined. The six-foot-ten forward could also provide the Bulls with another active presence on the glass. While he isn’t the most ferocious rebounder, he did average roughly 5.0 boards during his 25.3 minutes per game last season.
So when it comes to size, shooting, and veteran experience, Gallinari could check a lot of boxes for this Bulls team off the bench. The problem with the big man is that he simply isn’t known for his defensive capabilities, and he also hasn’t appeared in over 68 games in a single season since the 2012-13 campaign. For a roster that just experienced some season-defining injury trouble, this certainly feels noteworthy.
I think spending most of the Bulls’ MLE on Gallinari might be a bit of a risk, especially since he doesn’t check the defensive box this team needs to check in the frontcourt. With that said, the Bulls need the veteran experience and 3-point shooting, so they can do a lot worse than adding Gallinari’s services. We’ll see.