Danilo Gallinari has announced his intentions to decline his player option and attempt to re-sign through free agency. The Denver Nuggets should oblige.
Veteran forward and long time Denver Nuggets standout Danilo Gallinari has announced his plans to decline his player option for the 2017-18 season. This was an expected decision from Gallo, as the 28 year-old was set to make just $16,100,000 in the upcoming season.
As a reliable scorer, Gallinari will look to sign a much bigger contract as he enters his athletic prime.
It’s hard to say just how much attention Gallinari will attract in free agency. In another world, he might have been expecting a max contract—given his scoring ability and age—but his injury history will influence his price tag this coming summer.
The Italian born wing hasn’t played in more than 63 games since the 2012-13 season. In fact, he’s only made 70 or more appearances twice in his nine-year career. That’s likely to knock his contract down to something much closer to 20 million a year than 30.
Gallo also expressed his desire to remain in Denver (h/t Sportando):
"“The relationship between me, the city and the organization is great. This is the reason why I would love to reach an agreement to remain in Denver. I love it here. And I would love to remain with the Nuggets” Gallinari said.”"
Given these two factors, Denver should consider making a strong push to retain his services. That might not sit well with many Nuggets fans, though.
It’s not uncommon to hear them described as a team with too much depth and young talent, but not enough star power.
Despite Nikola Jokic’s emergence as a true stud in the making this season, Gallo was the team’s leading scorer. Some believe Denver just can’t win as long as that’s the case. With a log jam at the forward position, his impending free agency could be a great opportunity to move on.
The Nuggets could then simply slide the versatile Wilson Chandler into the starting 3 role.
This conversation gets more interesting when you consider two other impending opt-outs. Both Gordon Hayward and Paul Millsap are expected to decline their respective options.
You better believe there are Nuggets fans who would prefer that general manager Tim Connelly aggressively pursue an upgrade this summer.
In an ideal world, the Nuggets could let Gallinari walk with the knowledge that a clear upgrade in Hayward were on the way. This isn’t an ideal world, and Hayward is sure to draw many suitors—highlighted, of course, by a potential reunion with his college coach, Brad Stevens, in Boston.
There are plenty of reasons why Hayward should consider playing in Denver, but only few to believe he’ll actually end up there.
Paul Millsap, on the other hand, has a well-documented love for the city of Atlanta. Like Gallo, it makes a world of sense for Millsap to opt-out. But this doesn’t mean that he wants out.
It’s merely an opportunity to negotiate a well-deserved raise. The interest is likely mutual for Atlanta, and in truth, Millsap doesn’t actually make a ton of sense in Denver.
The team already has a log-jam of forwards consisting of Wilson Chandler, Kenneth Faried, Juan Hernangomez, and Darrell Arthur. Millsap is an upgrade, but not a player at a position of need.
Plus, at age 32, it just doesn’t fit Denver’s timeline to offer him a long-term max deal.
Denver is in a rare position in this league, and they have a luxury that few other teams and front offices do: time. The Nuggets’ core is extremely young and extremely talented.
You can count them among the teams like Minnesota and Milwaukee who might be set to make a run once the Cleveland-Golden State saga finally comes to a close.
They don’t need to break the bank for a force fit in an aging star like Millsap. And it’s unlikely that they’ll draw the services of Hayward. Come summer time, the Nuggets might consider doing their best to lock Gallo down on a hometown discount.
Then they could use Chandler’s cheap contract and versatility to their advantage in the trade market.
Should the Nuggets re-sign Gallo, Chandler could fetch a decent draft pick in return. This would give the Nuggets another shot at drafting more talent to their promising young core, while allowing Juancho Hernangomez to steal some more minutes.
In the meantime, Gallinari could be a useful piece for a team that wants to continue to make strides, and hopefully a playoff appearance. In addition to leading the team in scoring, he also lead Denver in 3-point field goals made with 2.0 per game.
The name of the game in Denver right now is to surround Jokic with 3-point shooting. Then, let the adroit passer create offense from the inside out.
35.8 percent of Gallinari’s shots were catch-and-shoot attempts from behind the arc. He shot 40.0 percent on such shots.
When Denver’s excellent ball movement stalled out, or Jokic had to sit, Gallo was the bailout option. Every team needs a player who can put their head down and draw fouls. He led the team with 5.5 made free throws a game, which is 2.4 more than the next guy even attempted.
It’s true that a championship-caliber team would never feature Gallinari as their go-to guy. But the Nuggets should have a more realistic set of goals. They key is to see the continued improvement of their young talent, with the thought that a playoff appearance might keep them inclined to stick together, and maybe help make the team a more attractive destination for future free agents.
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This is why the Nuggets should look to take advantage of Danilo Gallinari’s desire to remain in Denver. They should hope to lock him up at a reasonable price, and try to front load the contract.
This could make him moveable should that be necessary as their young core ages out of their rookie contracts.
Gallo wants to stay. The Denver Nuggets should oblige.