The Chicago Bulls partially saved themselves this morning, with news dropping that Zach LaVine would return to the franchise on a max deal. But that doesn’t mean this free agency period has been a home run just yet.
Other than big man Andre Drummond, the Bulls have made zero other additions to their roster. And they just missed out on one of their rumored targets.
According to multiple reports, sharpshooting veteran forward Danilo Gallinari is set to join the Boston Celtics once he officially clears waivers.
Considering the Celtics are fresh off a trip to the NBA Finals, I can’t say I’m shocked that Gallinari has more interest in joining that crew. However, missing out on the big man feels like a noteworthy loss, particularly because of the lack of movement we’ve seen on other fronts.
We all know the Bulls desperately need reliable 3-point shooting, and Gallinari would have undoubtedly provided that with his career 38.0 percent mark from behind the arc. Not to mention, he’s a 14-year veteran with his fair share of playoff experience. While he wouldn’t have necessarily solved problems on the defensive end for Chicago, Gallinari would have been a perfectly adequate role player to add to a relatively inexperienced bench.
The Bulls will now have to dig deeper into an already-depleted free-agent class, perhaps looking at names like TJ Warren or Cody and Caleb Martin to add the kind of 3-point shooting and wing defense they covet.