Danilo Gallinari has been officially cut from San Antonio Spurs, where he had arrived as part of the trade that brought Dejounte Murray to the Atlanta Hawks.
The Texans waited until the last possible moment before cutting the Rooster, in an attempt to slip him into some trade to get other picks, San Antonio’s most sought-after commodity in recent months. In the end, Spurs management failed in its intent and terminated the agreement with Gallinari, paying him 13 of the 21.5 million expected from the remaining contract year. Initially the guaranteed amount was to be 5 million but it went up to 13 to make ends meet in the trade with Atlanta. For the Spurs little harm because they still remain the franchise with the most salary space in the entire league (32 million). And even better for the Rooster who with this severance and the approximately 6.5 million that the Boston Celtics will guarantee him for next season will still come very close to the 21 he could have taken from the Hawks but in addition will have a chance to compete for the title.
Gallinari will clear waivers on Sunday (5PM ET.) and all signs point to the forward signing with the Boston Celtics, sources tell ESPN.
San Antonio now has $32M in cap space. https://t.co/TVEMdPGB2J
– Bobby Marks (@BobbyMarks42) July 8, 2022
The curiosity is that the “bonus” received by the Spurs for the cut is expected to be even slightly higher than what Gallinari will earn in total over the next two years in Boston, which is just under $13 million. Essentially more money to leave San Antonio without ever even going to practice than to play two years in a Celtics jersey: the ins and outs of the very peculiar NBA market.
Now all that is missing is the official signing of the new contract, which, by regulation, can only come at least 48 hours after the cut. Already in the Italian evening on Sunday, however, should come the officialdom of Danilo Gallinari’s new team, the Boston Celtics.
