Celtics interested in Italian forward Gigi Datome

Sportando

Gigi Datome, captain and star of Virtus Roma, may sign in the NBA next season. The forward of the Italian National team is having his best season in Serie A, where he scores 17.8ppg with 5.8rpg shooting with 53.9% from two and 46.1% from the arc in 21 games played.

Datome, according to La Gazzetta dello Sport, is drawing interest from at least three NBA teams and one of them are the Boston Celtics.

The Celtics have been one of the least successful teams in terms of adding international players. Our best international player was Dino Radja and he played for us nearly 20 years ago. The Celtics have passed on international prospects like Tony Parker and Manu Ginobil to draft traditional U.S. college players like Joe Forte and Kris Clack. Teams are still drafting solid international players in the late first round and 2nd round (Nikola Pekovic, Tiago Splitter, Nikola Vucevic, and Marc Gasol to name some 7 footers who would have looked good in green), but for one reason or another Danny Ainge and the Celtics have continued to pass on international players.

There are several reasons why the Celtics, once known as winningest NBA franchise by FAR, have now won only 1 title in almost 30 years, but being behind the curve on international players is definitely up there. I don't know much about Datome. Maybe some of our European readers can add a scouting report or two in the comments section, but he is available without having to draft him, he's only 25, and he doesn't have a complicated buyout to deal with, so if he has NBA skills he'd be a solid signing.



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