Danilo Gallinari exercises 2023-24 player option

The Celtics last summer attempted to sign Danilo Gallinari to a oenyear contract, but he and his agent balked. Then Boston tried to sign him to a two year deal, but again it wasn't enough. The teams finally came to an agreement once Brad Stevens gave Gallo a valuable player option on his contract. That meant if Gallinari had a good season, he could decline the player option and either sign another contract for more this summer either with Boston or elsewhere.

If he got injured or didn't play well, he had the security of another year on his contract. Solid deal by his agent. Gallinari tore his ACL again and didn't play a game for the Celtics, so it was a no brainer for him to exercise his option on his 2nd year of his deal.

Veteran forward Danilo Gallinari has exercised his $6.8 million player option to return to the Boston Celtics for the 2023-2024 season, his agent Michael Tellem of Excel Sports Management told ESPN on Thursday.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 15, 2023

Gallinari will either serve a role on Boston's bench this coming season or he will be traded either for another player or as a salary dump. I had wanted Boston to sign local kid Bruce Brown Jr. instead, but Stevens gambled on Gallo staying healthy and being adequate enough defensively for the Celtics to be able to use his sharp shooting in the playoffs.