Last weekend, Boston Celtics forward Danillo Gallinari went down with a meniscus tear while playing for Italy in a FIBA World Cup qualifying game. That could lead to him making his debut sometime in November.
Now the C’s find themselves with a hole in their rotation heading into the new season. With that said, at least from this vantage point, it’s certainly not a hole that will prove impossible to fill for the Cs.
Boston will have plenty of options in terms of moves that they can make to maintain their depth. There are three moves in particular that make the most sense:
The Boston Celtics can lean on in-house option Sam Hauser
The most sensible of the three moves that the Boston Celtics can make is one from within. Giving Sam Hauser some if not all of the minutes that were supposed to go to Gallinari is the most sensible move to make.
The Italian forward is reportedly expected to only miss time through November, so it wouldn’t make much sense to do anything drastic.
Instead, it would be in the team’s best interest to give the man that they just signed to a three-year deal some extra run.
Hauser is a good fit for the role because, like Gallinari, he’d give the green some extra shooting off of the bench. Last season, Hauser made 43% of his shots from behind the arc, albeit in very limited minutes.
The Boston Celtics could pursue Carmelo Anthony as a free agent
Another direction the Boston Celtics could go to fill the void left by Gallinari’s left knee would be to bring in Carmelo Anthony.
Earlier this week, Brandon Robinson of Bally Sports reported that the C’s had interest in Anthony.
Carmelo Anthony has been considered a potential signee by the Boston Celtics in recent days following Danilo Gallinari's suffered torn meniscus in his left knee on Saturday, I'm told.
— 👑 Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson (@ScoopB) August 31, 2022
Knicks are still believed to have interest in the former Laker, Thunder, Blazer, Rocket. pic.twitter.com/nGePtMj7YI
Last season, the 10-time all star shot a similar clip to the sharpshooting Italian. Anthony knocked down 37% of his attempts from deep, while Gallinari made 38% of his, so the drop-off would be minimal, if flat-out non-existent.
The two don’t have the exact same play style, with Melo traditionally being more ball dominant, but if Boston is really looking to fill the role he’d certainly be a viable option.
The Boston Celtics can bring back Matt Ryan
An interesting third option to eat some minutes off of the bench would be another free agent signing. Well, kind of.
The Boston Celtics saw Matt Ryan find a bit of a rhythm playing in this season’s NBA Summer League in Las Vegas. In two games for the C’s, Ryan averaged 19 points on 55% shooting from the field and 52% from deep. Since then, it’s been reported that he will seek a more stable role elsewhere instead of returning to the Celtics.
Though unlikely, it would be great if Boston somehow was able to get Ryan to sign back. He’d be a great candidate to fill that shooting role off of the bench, and already has some experience playing under Ime Udoka.