Denver Nuggets: Pros and cons of re-signing Danilo Gallinari
By Simon Smith
With an exciting and emerging young core, the Denver Nuggets must soon determine the value of veteran forward Danilo Gallinari.
Over the course of this season, the Denver Nuggets demonstrated why they could be one of the true up-and-coming teams in the NBA. Led by emerging superstar Nikola Jokic, the Nuggets jumped from 33 to 40 wins this season, narrowly missing out on their first playoff berth since 2013.
Ranking third in the league in the league in scoring at 111.7 points per game, the Nuggets were led by Danilo Gallinari, whose 18.2 points per game led the Nuggets for the second consecutive season. Along with Gallinari, Denver also had five other players averaging double-figures for scoring. The most promising aspect from the Nuggets’ perspective was the improvement they made gradually over the course of the season.
With a 25-31 record leading into the All-Star break, the Nuggets rounded out the year with a 15-11 mark. Aside from Gallinari’s consistency over the course of the season, it was the emergence of Jokic into a legitimate force that took the Nuggets to another level. Over his last 46 games, Jokic averaged 19.8 points, 11.2 rebounds and 5.8 assists in 30.3 minutes per game. Shooting 57.9 percent from the field, Jokic was a +237 while on the floor.
Aside from Jokic, the player comfortably with the next best impact on the floor during this span was Gallo, with a +187 while on the floor. So while Jokic and emerging stars such as Gary Harris and Jamal Murray are the future of the Nuggets, Gallinari’s status currently remains uncertain.
According to The Vertical‘s Adrian Wojnarowski, Gallinari will opt out of the final year of his contract and hit free agency this summer. Here are the pros and cons of the Nuggets retaining Gallinari this offseason.