After being traded by the Boston Celtics this offseason, Danilo Gallinari is keeping it personal.
As such, he is eager to face the upcoming season anticipating a great fight with the C’s upon not being able to play for them for the entire 2022-23 NBA season as he was sidelined because of an ACL injury.
“I can’t wait to play against Boston,” he said upon appearing for A Cresta Alta podcast. “As soon as the schedule comes out, I will mark the dates of every game against Boston.”
Still, Gallinari views his availability for the next 2023-24 as even more important than any other.
“Joking aside, I am excited. I am ready to start the new season,” he noted. “I am still in rehab. So, I am not actually ready to play a basketball game. But the goal is to be fully ready to start the training camp.”
Gallinari wasn’t able to enforce the Celtics last year amid inking a two-year, $13.3MM with them last summer. His hopes of playing for his favorite league franchise were ultimately halted when Boston decided to send him to the Washington Wizards as a part of the Kristaps Porzingis trade earlier this offseason.
The Italian veteran won’t still be active for Italy as the nation will land on this year’s FIBA Basketball World Cup, but he can only hope to get prepared and deliver a bounce-back performance at his side.
Gallinari last played for the Atlanta Hawks in the 2021-22 season wherein he averaged 11.7 points, 4.7 boards, and 1.5 assists in 66 games played.
