![](https://celticswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/39/2022/12/fiba-italy-danilo-gallinari.jpg?w=1000&h=600&crop=1)
Not every dream comes true in real life, but it has to sting all the more given how close former Boston Celtics forward Danilo Gallinari got to playing for his childhood favorite team. “You have the chance to sign for a team like the Celtics that are fighting for a championship, and it’s the first or second time in my career where I have the chance to be on a team that is fighting for a championship,” said the Italian swingman via MassLive’s Garret Cole. “But then the injury came. It was tough.”
“In terms of injuries, timing in my life has always been terrible,” Gallo related. “They always came at the wrong time. Definitely, this time came at the wrong time.”
Gallinari managed to stick with the Celtics during a long and difficult rehabilitation from a torn ACL and thought he would make it onto Boston’s active roster for the 2023-24 season after his exit interview for the team’s 2022-23 campaign.
What else might be coming from Boston’s front office now that the major moves are nearly done? https://t.co/1p5URx5jTn
— The Celtics Wire (@TheCelticsWire) July 6, 2023
“I had a meeting with the team probably three, four days before the trade, and the meeting was a little different – the reason why I didn’t expect the trade,” he explained.
“I’ve been through it before many times, it’s just the craziness about the NBA sometimes. It was pretty quick and unexpected.”
Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:
Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6
Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi
YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ