BOSTON — The NBA Finals ended on June 16. And on Friday, hours into free agency and two weeks after that numbing Game 6 loss and admitting he needed shooting, playmaking and depth, Brad Stevens addressed the lion’s share of his needs during an extremely buddy morning.
The Celtics bolstered their bench by reaching agreement with Danilo Gallinari, the 33-year-old Italian veteran and a so-called stretch four, and then sent a large trade package to Indiana for point guard Malcolm Brogdon.
The Celtics are sending Daniel Theis, Aaron Nesmith, Nic Stauskas, Juwan Morgan, Malik Fitts and their 2023 first-round pick. Stevens was able to land Brogdon, who has three years and $67.6 million left on his contract, including $22.6 million next season, while also keeping the core of his NBA Finals team intact.
Remarkably, Stevens was also able to put together the deal without using any of his large parcel of traded player exceptions, including an oversized $17.1 million TPE that expires on July 18.
Gallinari, who reportedly received a more lucrative offer from Chicago, agreed to a two-year, roughly $13 million contract, via the Celtics’ $6.5 taxpayer mid-level exception, and may now have the greatest chance at a title in his 14-season career.
A league source said the Celtics still intend to sign a backup big man to a veteran’s minimum contract — all they have left to offer — to fill the void left by Theis. A source added that even with the signing of Luke Kornet to a two-year contract, the team still has room to sign another big man.
The Celtics were reportedly in the hunt for Washington free agent Thomas Bryant, a strong rebounder and rim presence who missed much of last season with the Wizards due to injury and 2021 ACL surgery.
The Celtics are still expected to be buyers in the trade market due to their collection of trade exceptions and will, according to the source, join the 20-odd other teams that plan to propose trade packages for Brooklyn’s Kevin Durant.
But for now, Stevens has transformed a bench corps that only produced five points in that Game 6 loss to Golden State.
Brogdon, an established starting point guard who should do a lot to calm the Celtics down in those late-game situations that found them losing composure a little too frequently, adds more stability to a backcourt that now also includes Marcus Smart, Derrick White and Payton Pritchard.
A source stressed that the Celtics view Brogdon as a sixth man, and will continue to start Smart at point guard while also continuing to start their double big lineup with Al Horford and Robert Williams.
The 29-year-old Brogdon, the NBA’s 2017 Rookie of the Year, missed 41 games between December and April due to Achilles and back pain, and was made expendable when the Pacers traded for Tyrese Haliburton.
He’s a career 38% 3-point shooter, though his downtown numbers were much higher during his first three seasons with Milwaukee, and has the kind of toughness that fits Ime Udoka’s defensive demands.
Gallinari will be a harder fit from a defensive standpoint — a weakness particularly exposed during his two seasons in Atlanta and that team’s substandard defensive scheme.
But if there’s a scheme that can cover up for an average defender — Gallinari will add to their defensive length on the wings — then it’s the NBA’s top-rated defense.
But as Danny Ainge’s longtime interest in Gallinari indicated during his era in Boston, this European star has the kind of shooting and playmaking that every offense needs.
And for a Celtics team still prone to long scoring droughts when the reserves are on the floor, Gallanari is exactly what is needed to jump-start an offense.
He’s a career 38.2% 3-point shooter, and prior to shooting his career average last season, had percentages of .406, .405 and .433 the previous three seasons with the Hawks, Thunder and Clippers.
He’s also injury-prone, though Gallinari’s minutes load should be eased as part of the Celtics’ deepening rotation.
It’s also a big summer in more ways than one for the Italian star, who played the first four seasons of his professional career in Italy before being taken with the sixth pick of the 2008 draft by New York.
He will marry his longtime girlfriend, sports journalist Eleanora Boi, in Milan on July 23.
