The Boston Celtics picking up Danilo Gallinari off the waiver wire and Malcolm Brogdon via trade - while sending both Daniel Theis and Aron Nesmith away - makes The Green stronger right away.
Theis didn't see the floor as much as many expected in the 2022 post-season. He averaged 12.5 MP, 4.3 PPG and 3.3 RPG - with a plus/minus of -2.6. Nesmith only averaged 3.5 MPG in the playoffs and had trouble hitting from the field (4-of-17) and beyond the arc (1-of-11). It became obvious that Coach Ime Udoka didn't trust either player for extended play with Banner 18 on the line.
Enter Gallinari and Brogdon. The worry on both is that they have injury histories. For Danilo, we can add that he has never been known as the kind of defender favored by Udoka, but he is a "shooter with size" (6'10") that can rebound the ball.
Conversely, Malcolm does everything out there on the floor. Last season, he averaged 19.1 PPG, 5.1 RPG and 5.9 RPG. In the 2020 playoffs, in four games he averaged 10.0 assists per game, along with 21.5 points per game. He can play the point or shooting guard positions and has the wing size (6'5") and defensive ability for Udoka's switching schemes.
So effectively, Brad Stevens has added two promising bench guys to the present trio of Grant Williams, Derrick White and Payton Pritchard - at least on paper giving Boston a 10-man rotation for the 2023 post-season. The Celtics potential Title window just opened a little more!
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