17-year NBA veteran pitched as Boston Celtics' Danilo Gallinari backup plan

Should the Boston Celtics not bring back Danilo Gallinari, Thaddeus Young should be a backup option on the buyout market according to ClutchPoints' David Yapkowitz.

"If the Celtics don't end up signing Danilo Gallinari, they could turn their attention to Thaddeus Young," Yapkowitz wrote. "Young is also a bit of a combo forward but hasn't been as productive as Gallinari in recent seasons. He's spent the past couple of years as more of a veteran mentor on the Toronto Raptors.

"His presence on the Celtics would be of a locker room kind of guy, but it's never a bad idea to have a few of those guys especially on a team looking to win a championship"

Analyst: Boston Celtics don't need Thaddeus Young if they miss out on Danilo Gallinari

Yapkowitz essentially belittled his own suggestion to sign Young by relaying his belief that the Cs don't actually need the former Georgia Tech star should they strike out on bring back "The Rooster" on the buyout market.

"Should the Celtics sign Young, they probably won't depend on him too much for on the court production," Yapkowitz prefaced before saying, "If they miss out on Gallinari, then simply rolling with that they have should be good enough. There's been chatter about them possibly converting Neemias Queta to a standard contract and that's probably the best move."

Boston will be splitting big man minutes between Kristaps Porzingis and Al Horford, and trade deadline acquisition Xavier Tillman figures to get any of the remaining playing time at the 5 come playoff time. Jayson Tatum will play over 40 minutes a night, meaning Young would be relegated to end-of-the-bench conversations with other reserves who Joe Mazzulla doesn't have a proper role for.

Given Young's long-range shooting has cratered to below 20%, there's no spot-up shooting role that'd make sense. Adding the combo forward for even the veteran's minimum has tax implications that aren't worth it for the franchise. There are players out there who can serve as legitimate injury insurance, but Young isn't that in the twilight of his career.

There's a role out there for him, it just isn't in Boston.