The Boston Celtics were hoping to get some added artillery when they signed Danilo Gallinari to a deal. But as most know, the Italian will be out of commission for several months following a torn ACL in his left knee.
Given the situation, the Celtics may not be able to wait that long – especially if they plan to make a return trip to the NBA Finals.
Hence, Boston may try to look for a temporary replacement to fill in the void left by the 34-year-old player. One name that head coach Ime Udoka may consider is veteran player Carmelo Anthony.
The ten-time All-Star is coming off a stint with the Los Angeles Lakers and showed that he could still do many things when called upon.
Last season, the 2013 NBA Scoring Champion averages 13.3 points, 4.2 rebounds and an assist in 69 games, fairly good numbers despite being 38 years old.
So far, no team has approached Anthony for a possible stint in the 2022-23 NBA wars. For the Celtics, he could be a temporary solution despite critics believing he would be an apples to oranges replacement for Gallinari.
Regardless, the fact is that the Celtics need more scorers and Anthony is certainly a wise choice. Given that he may be on the last legs of his decorated NBA career, Boston may end up offering the 19-year veteran a non-guaranteed deal with the return of Gallinari possible after six to nine months.
Unless the Celtics find another player who could come off the bench and provide scoring both inside and out, Anthony would be an acceptable temporary solution.
The Celtics do have some other younger power forwards in the mix that Udoka could turn to for now. That list includes Sam Hauser, Noah Vonleh and Bruno Caboclo.
Al Horford could also be tasked to do some power-forward work temporarily. A better picture of what Boston may do to address the loss of Gallinari may be known after the team’s training camp.
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