“I can’t wait to play against the Boston Celtics,” Danilo Gallinari wants his revenge on the Celtics after they traded him to Washington Wizards

NBA veteran Danilo Gallinari was unfortunate to not play for the Boston Celtics even once. The big man was involved in a three-team trade which landed him in the Washington Wizards. Gallinari signed a two-year $13.3 million deal with the Boston Celtics last July but he suffered a ACL tear during the FIBA World Cup qualifiers for Italy in August which brought an end to his Celtics journey before it even started.

Still in his rehab, Gallinari is hurt that the Celtics traded him. A lifelong Boston Celtics fan, Gallinari never got an opportunity to play a match for the Celtics. In a recent episode of the Italian podcast ‘A Cresta Alta’, Gallinari said he is looking for revenge against the Celtics in the upcoming season.

“I can’t wait to play against Boston,” Gallinari said. “When the schedule will be unveiled, I’ll put an X on the games we will play at Boston against the Celtics.”

The Italian veteran is still not fit yet as he is still in his rehab process but hopes to get 100% before the pre-season camp starts for the new season. “I’m excited, I’m ready to start the new season,” Gallinari said. “Right now, I’m still in rehab so I’m not ready nowadays to play a basketball game, but the goal is to arrive for training camp 100% ready.”

The Italian last featured in the 2021-22 NBA season with the Atlanta Hawks. He averaged 11.7 points, 4.7 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 0.4 steals and 11.7, 3-pointers per game on 43.4% shooting over 66 games.

Gallinari’s hard feelings for the Celtics developed because he had the indication of staying on with the team for the upcoming season and had no clue about the trade which happened days after he had a meeting with the team management. Therefore he is a little disappointed with how things unfolded for him.

The Italian shared how injuries have come at the wrong time in his career. He was eager to play for the Celtics, who are competing for the Championship and believes these chances don’t come often but injuries had their say.

“In terms of injuries, timing in my life has always been terrible,” Gallinari said. “They always came at the wrong time. Definitely, this time came at the wrong time. You have the chance to sign for a team like the Celtics that are fighting for a championship, and it’s the first or second time in my career that I have the chance to be on a team that is fighting for a championship. But then the injury came. It was tough.”

It is surely a very unfortunate turn of events for Gallinari who continues to recover from his torn ACL and will be hoping to deliver for his new team Washington Wizards in the upcoming NBA season.