Celtics reportedly considering Carmelo Anthony as a possible Gallinari injury replacement

BOSTON -- The Celtics' depth took a bit of a hit over the weekend when Danilo Gallinari tore his meniscus while playing for Italy in a FIBA World Cup qualifier. The forward will reportedly miss the start of the season, as he'll be sidelined until November. 

That has left Brad Stevens and company to ponder the team's current depth and  kick the tires on some available free agents. That tire kicking has reportedly brought Boston to Carmelo Anthony, whom the Celtics have given some consideration to signing, according to Brandon "Scoop B" Robinson of Bally's. 

How much consideration the Celtics have actually given to signing Anthony, a 10-time All-Star and the 2013 scoring champ, remains unknown. The Boston brass could have legitimately discussed adding Anthony, or someone could have brought up his name in a meeting and been laughed out of the room. "Consideration" has many different meanings in this case.

But if the 34-year-old Gallinari is only going to miss about a month of action, signing Anthony would be a curious fit for both parties. Melo isn't the all-world offensive player he once was, but he has turned himself into a really solid role player over the last few years for the likes of the Blazers and the Lakers. His number of shots has decreased over the years and his shooting percentages has improved, so the once volume scorer is taking much better -- and much fewer -- shots. 

While he's gone unsigned for so long, mostly due to his defensive deficiencies, someone is going to ink Anthony to a deal before the season starts.

It would be odd if it were the Celtics though, given Al Horford's and Grant Williams' spots on the power forward depth chart. Gallinari was set to slot in with Williams off the bench, potentially playing some small-ball 5, and someone will need to take Al's spot when the veteran sits out when the team has a back-to-back. Maybe Anthony would fit in that sense, but that would likely mean a big decrease in playing time, especially when Gallinari returns. (Anthony averaged 26 minutes off the bench for the Lakers last season.) The Celtics also gave Sam Hauser a three-year deal to develop him off the bench, and bringing in Anthony, even as a Gallinari replacement early on, would limit Hauser's development.

Should Gallinari's injury keep him out of the lineup longer, then the Celtics will likely start to really consider longer term options for the roster. But for now, they should be fine going with their younger, in-house options than adding a former star like Carmelo.