No, Celtics Can’t Sign Danilo Gallinari If Bought Out By Wizards

When Danilo Gallinari was included in the three-team trade which brought Kristaps Porzingis to the Boston Celtics, it ended an unfortunate single season for the veteran sharpshooter.

And despite the fact Gallinari’s new team, the Washington Wizards, reportedly are expected to buy him out, it doesn’t mean Brad Stevens will be able to bring Gallinari back to Boston this offseason. Yahoo Sports’ Jake Fischer on Tuesday reported the Wizards are expected to come to a buyout agreement with Gallinari.

If that proves to be the case, the Celtics would not able to sign him as a free agent because of the rules in the league’s Collective Bargaining Agreement, as pointed out by MassLive’s Brian Robb.

The rule prevents teams from, for lack of a better term, pulling a fast one on the rest of the league.

Understandable, right?

Gallinari opted into his $6.8 million player option before he was traded by the Celtics. If bought out, he will become a free agent and be able to sign a new deal with anyone besides Boston, although it’s difficult to imagine Gallinari gets anything other than the veteran minimum. After all, he’s coming off a torn ACL which caused him to miss the 2022-23 campaign.

After being traded to Washington, Gallinari thanked the Celtics for helping him rehab and recover from the surgery he had last offseason.