Timberwolves Free Agency: Danilo Gallinari

Danilo Gallinari was arguably one of the best forwards in the NBA last season, and now he’s expected to opt for free agency.

Danilo Gallinari, or ‘The Rooster’, as he’s affectionately known, just completed his eighth season in the NBA. The past year would’ve been his ninth, should an ACL injury not have kept him out for the entire 2013-14 season.

At 28 years old, Gallinari seems to still have his best basketball to come, with the past two seasons being his most dominant in the NBA.

In 63 appearances last season, Gallinari averaged 18.2 points, 5.2 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 33.9 minutes per game.

He shot 44.7 percent from the field, including 38.9 percent from 3-point range, and ranked fourth in the NBA, shooting 90.4 percent from the free throw line.

His great shooting services will be available according to Adrian Wojnarowski:

Sources on @TheVertical: Denver Nuggets forward Danilo Gallinari intends to become an unrestricted free agent. https://t.co/ZRlcRYw5CC
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) May 30, 2017

Danilo Gallinari was part of the Nuggets ultimately-unsuccesful playoff push this season, that saw them finish just one win behind eith seed Portland Trail Blazers.

Gallinari has experience at three positions at NBA level, starting his career with the New York Knicks at shooting guard before moving to the forwards. The overwhelming majority of Gallinari’s NBA experience has been at small forward, despite his 6-foot-10 frame often being seen on a power forward.

This is where I see Gallinari’s best fit with the Timberwolves. A shift of Karl-Anthony Towns to center, thereby pushing Gorgui Dieng to the bench, would leave the power forward position open for Gallinari to take.

Gallinari would be of his best use and fit with the Wolves as the starting power forward, where a front court of Towns and Gallinari could dominate in the paint, allowing Andrew Wiggins and Zach LaVine space on the perimeter and Ricky Rubio plenty of options to distribute the ball.

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Another scenario would be to see Wiggins shift to shooting guard, LaVine be reintroduced to top level basketball from his ACL injury off the bench, and Gallinari in his usual small forward position.

This option would most likely make Gallinari feel most comfortable, and may make his transition between teams smoother.

A very unlikely scenario could see Wiggins shifted to the bench and Gallinari start in his place. While this would certainly provide a lot of strength to the Wolves bench, Wiggins isn’t a reserve player, and this will almost certainly not be occurring anytime soon.

The final scenario would see Gallinari come off the bench, however this also is unlikely due to his current starting position in Denver. Gallinari most likely wouldn’t accept a bench role in order to leave a team with a legitimate playoff chance next year.

The Minnesota Timberwolves similarly aren’t likely to pay Gallinari’s salary for a bench player (Gallinari’s player option at Denver next year is worth $16.1 million.) The likely scenario for a Gallinari acquisition would be to see him as part of the starting five next season.

Gallinari’s experience in the NBA would be useful for the Timberwolves, who currently rely on 26 year old Ricky Rubio for a veteran presence.

Despite not being much older, at 28 years old, Gallinari has nine years of NBA experience, playing for two different teams. His exposure to different coaches would allow him to adapt to Thibodeau more easily, and his experience could help steady the Wolves, who notoriously blew a number of large leads last season.

Gallinari participated in two postseasons, in 2011 and 2012, and is surely itching to return next season. The Timberwolves are eager to snap their 13-year playoff drought next year and are in need of players with playoff experience.

Danilo Gallinari has had an impressive NBA career, averaging 15.3 points, 4.7 rebounds and 2 assists in 31.1 minutes per game. Gallinari has never shot less than 40 percent from the field in his career, and averages 86.3 percent from the free throw line, good for ninth among active NBA players.

I personally think a Gallinari acquisition this offseason would be quite unlikely, and I don’t think he is the player the Timberwolves need. However there would certainly be benefits for the Wolves should ‘The Rooster’ choose to call Minnesota home next year.

Next: Andrew Wiggins deserves the max

Danilo Gallinari has had an impressive NBA career, and his stats point to the fact the best may very well be yet to come.