BOSTON — Danilo Gallinari will be back for another season with the Celtics after the veteran forward opted into his $6.8 million player option on Thursday to return to Boston, according to a report from ESPN.
The decision was not surprising after Gallinari missed the entire 2022-23 season due to a torn ACL in his left knee. Gallinari signed a two-year deal with the Celtics last July and was expected to be a big part of their plans before he suffered the injury while playing for Team Italy in a FIFA World Cup qualifying game in August.
Gallinari had surgery in September and rehabbed with the Celtics all season while traveling with the team and serving as a veteran voice on the bench throughout the regular season and the playoffs. He was hopeful of a return during the playoffs as he ramped up his workload but while he was participating in full-court workouts when the Eastern Conference finals began, he couldn’t get his conditioning up to speed in time and hadn’t yet been cleared for full contact workouts to make an unlikely comeback.
