Danilo Gallinari Caught Off Guard By Celtics’ Blockbuster Trade

Marcus Smart claimed the Celtics told him he was safe from trade talks just one week before shipping him out of Boston.

Danilo Gallinari has since claimed the same thing.

It’s why Gallinari, who landed with the Washington Wizards after the same three-team trade which sent Smart to the Memphis Grizzlies, was so caught off-guard by the deal. Boston acquired Kristaps Porzingis in the agreement.

“I had a meeting with the team probably three, four days before the trade, and the meeting was a little different — the reason why I didn’t expect the trade,” Gallinari told MassLive’s Garrett Cote after attending an event as the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame on Wednesday.

“I’ve been through it before many times, it’s just the craziness about the NBA sometimes. It was pretty quick and unexpected,” Gallinari told MassLive. “I didn’t know it was gonna happen.”

Gallinari was told by the Celtics about the trade, however, while Smart said he found out about it from his agent.

Unfortunately for Gallinari, the trade meant he would not play a game for the Celtics after signing a two-year contract last summer. Gallinari was sidelined for the entire 2022-23 campaign after he suffered a torn ACL when he played in a FIBA World Cup qualifier last summer.

It was previously reported the Wizards planned to buy out Gallinari, but the veteran sharpshooter told MassLive he hasn’t had those conversations yet. If it does play out that way, though, Gallinari will not be allowed to sign with the Celtics as a free agent.