The Boston Celtics brought in Malcolm Brogdon and Danilo Gallinari during the offseason after losing to the Golden State Warriors 4-2 in the NBA Finals last season.
Brogdon is a solid defender and a trustworthy orchestrator, the lack of which partly cost the Celtics the Finals.
Gallinari, though 34 already and went through a lot of injuries in his career, can still provide efficient firepower off the bench as a big man shooter with underestimated isolation skills.
However, these two are no greater than premium pieces for a franchise instead of game-changing stars. That role belongs to Jayson Tatum, who, was truly a disappointment during the Finals.
Perhaps that's why the Celtics have been involved with the trade rumors of Kevin Durant, but is 33-year-old, social-media-obsessed and easily-pouting Durant worth trading half of the franchise for?
L-R: Malcolm Brogdon, Danilo Gallinari of the Boston Celtics and the team's president of basketball operations Brad Stevens attend the introduction press conference for the two new arrivals at the Auerbach Center in Boston, Massachusetts, July 12, 2022. /CFP
Jayson Tatum of the Boston Celtics looks on in Game 6 of the NBA Finals against the Golden State Warriors at TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts, June 16, 2022. /CFP
Jaylen Brown (R) of the Boston Celtics defends Kevin Durant of the Brooklyn Nets in Game 4 of the NBA Eastern Conference first-round playoffs at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York City, April 25, 2022. /CFP
Host: Li Xiang
Guest: Matthew Watson
Cover designer: Feng Yuan
Chief editor: Chen Ran
Supervisor: Zhang Shilei