2017 NBA free agency grades: Clippers will land Danilo Gallinari in sign-and-trade

The Los Angeles Clippers will land Danilo Gallinari in a sign-and-trade that cost them Jamal Crawford, Diamond Stone and a future draft pick. The move has great potential upside, but also a chance of failure.

The Los Angeles Clippers have needed a starting-caliber small forward since they brought their core four together.

While Luc Mbah a Moute did a solid job in that role in 2016-17, he was still undoubtedly the weak link in the starting lineup.

Although the Clippers lost two of their core four already, they finally filled in their hole at small forward. According to ESPN‘s Adrian Wojnarowski, Danilo Gallinari will soon be a member of the Clippers as part of a three-year, $65 million sign-and-trade.

In this deal, the Clippers sent Jamal Crawford, Diamond Stone, and a 2018 first round pick (via Houston, top-three protected) to the Atlanta Hawks. Atlanta sent the Washington Wizards‘ 2019 second round pick to the Denver Nuggets to complete the trade.

The Clippers now have one of the league’s best frontcourts with Gallinari joining Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan. Furthermore, they managed to get Jamal Crawford’s salary off the books. While Crawford is a beloved figure among both players and media members, he showed signs of decline this past season and his $14 million salary would have been a crutch.

Danilo Gallinari fits the Clippers nearly perfectly when healthy. However, he (like Blake) has struggled with injuries in the past few years. Although Danilo all but shores up a repeat playoff berth for the Clippers, he could easily be the injured player that leads to another playoff disappointment.

Offense: Sharpshooter with size

The Clippers lost one of the league’s premier sharpshooters this offseason when J.J. Redick signed with the Philadelphia 76ers. While Danilo Gallinari is not quite in Redick’s echelon as a shooter, he is still one of the league’s best offensive weapons from deep.

Gallinari is a 37 percent career shooter from deep, and he knocked down 38.9 percent of his triples in 2016-17.

However, despite his 6’10” frame, he is not just some stretch-big who added a few feet to his 18-foot jumper. He is a legitimate threat from 30 feet and in, making 38 percent of his triples from 25-29 feet last year, per NBA.com. Gallo demonstrated that touch from deep against the Clippers last season:

In addition to his sweet jump shot, Danilo finishes well around the rim. He converted on 64 percent of his shots in the restricted area last season, per NBA.com, well above the league average of around 60 percent.

His True Shooting Percentage was a spectacular 62.2 percent and his career mark of 86.3 percent from the free throw line (including a 90.2 percent mark last season) makes him a great complement to DeAndre Jordan up front.

Defense: Effective enough

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Danilo Gallinari is a great offensive weapon who manages to also be a plus on the defensive end. His size allows him to guard both forward spots effectively, and his defensive IQ is far above what it was in his early Knicks days.

Gallinari finished the year with a Defensive Real Plus-Minus of 0.21, per ESPN.com. When combined with his excellent Offensive RPM of 2.67, Gallo’s overall RPM of 2.88 left him as the league’s 10th-best small forward last season.

Denver’s defensive struggles were not really Gallo’s fault. Indeed, his Defensive Rating of 109.4 paints a poor picture of his defensive capabilities. But Denver’s overall Defensive Rating was 110.5, which cratered to 111.9 with Gallinari on the bench–the second-worst off-court Defensive Rating on the Nuggets and a mark that would have ranked last in the league.

Future outlook: Cause for hope, despite clear concerns

While Danilo Gallinari’s stellar offense and solid defense are worth celebrating, his injury history is a cause for concern. Blake Griffin’s injury concerns are somewhat overblown given his early-career health and bad injury luck. Gallinari’s concerns, by the same token, are not. He blew out his ACL in April of 2013 and missed the entire 2013-14 season. Gallo did not look fully healthy in his return year in 2014-15 and missed 23 and 29 games in his first two seasons after the injury.

Although Gallo had a fantastic 2016-17 campaign, he still missed 19 games with various maladies. He has only played more than 80 games once (in his sophomore season) and more than 70 games just twice.

The concern for the Clippers will be the “when” part of that statement. Gallo recovered nicely from his ACL injury, but he is not the superb athlete he was before he got hurt. His best long-term position may be as a stretch-4, and the Clippers are already fully loaded up front.

That being said, Gallinari will be a fantastic secondary offensive option alongside Blake Griffin. His excellent shooting will give Blake more space down low than Mbah a Moute ever could. Additionally, Gallo is capable enough with the ball in his hands to help Griffin to clear out room in the paint.

Next: 2017 NBA free agency tracker - Grades for every deal so far

The Danilo Gallinari sign-and-trade is a clear win for the Clippers. They shed Jamal Crawford’s salary after Lou Williams made him superfluous. While losing Diamond Stone and a future first hurts, Gallinari is worth that and far more when healthy. This contract could be a dud if Gallo cannot stay healthy, but Steve Ballmer is willing to take that risk to shore up a playoff berth.

Grade: B-