Danilo Gallinari’s Milwaukee stop was brief, but the regret tied to it clearly still lingers.
In an interview with HoopsHype’s Cyro Asseo, Gallinari said his decision to take a one-year deal with the Bucks instead of signing for two years with the Clippers stands as one of the biggest mistakes of his career.
"One of the biggest regrets that I have in my career is the choice that I made to go to Milwaukee for one year instead of signing two years with the Clippers, which I don't know if a lot of people know about. I had the chance to sign two years with the Clippers, and I signed one year with Milwaukee.
So it's probably, when I think about it, the biggest regret; that would probably be the biggest mistake that I made. Any other choice that I did in my career was, I think, great; that choice, contract-wise and team-wise, was probably the biggest mistake."
Gallinari’s time in Milwaukee came after his exit from Detroit, when the Bucks and Clippers emerged as the two main options. Both had familiar faces attached.
He had played for the Clippers from 2017-19, and Milwaukee offered Doc Rivers and Patrick Beverley, two people he had worked with during his LA stint. In the end, he chose Milwaukee and signed on for the rest of the season.
That decision looks even tougher in hindsight because the Bucks never really gave him the kind of ending that could have softened the blow. Milwaukee went 17-19 after Rivers took over as head coach, then stumbled into the playoffs before losing to the Indiana Pacers in six games.
Gallinari was gone after that, and he has not played in the NBA since.
The Clippers, meanwhile, were also knocked out in the first round that season, but Gallinari would have had another year on his contract there - and another shot at earning more money - if he had gone back to LA instead.
His Bucks stint ended up being a messy one. Milwaukee had plenty of turbulence at the coaching spot that season, and Gallinari was not carrying the load night after night. He was expected by some to be a useful rotation piece, but for the most part he was just caught up in the ride.
It leaves him in a familiar category for the Bucks during the Giannis Antetokounmpo era: a veteran who arrived in Milwaukee and never really got the chance to make it last anywhere else.
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