Los Angeles Clippers: 5 goals for the 2018 offseason
By Simon Smith
3. Trade Danilo Gallinari
Acquired last summer to try to help fill the void following the loss of Paul and Redick, Danilo Gallinari certainly lived up to his reputation of being a talented yet injury-prone performer. Having missed 71 games over the previous three seasons in addition to the entire 2013-14 season due to a knee injury, the Italian native would play just 21 games in his debut year as a Clipper due to an assortment of injuries.
In his 21 appearances, the 6’10” Gallinari averaged 15.3 points and 4.8 rebounds in 32.0 minutes per game. While he has played quite a bit at the small forward spot over his career, his body type and overall game are much more suited to that of a stretch-4 in the modern-day game. The problem with his place on the current Clippers roster has been the emergence of forward Tobias Harris.
Acquired in the aforementioned Griffin trade, Harris acquitted himself excellently in a Clippers uniform by averaging 19.3 points, 6.0 rebounds and 3.1 assists in 34.5 minutes per game. Most impressively as a modern-day stretch-4, Harris shot at a 41.4 percent clip from long range on 5.3 attempts per game as a Clipper. Furthermore, at just 25 years of age and on a very friendly contract, Harris’ value to the team far exceeds that of Gallinari.
Which brings us to one possible transaction:
Not only does this bring aboard some valuable veteran presences in Tyson Chandler and Jared Dudley, but it also brings aboard two contracts that expire at the end of next season.
Despite his injury concerns, Gallinari provides the Suns with a legitimate long range threat as a stretch-4 when healthy. With an extremely young roster led by emerging star Devin Booker, Gallinari’s experience and capabilities could prove invaluable over the final two years of his deal. Also, a second round pick from the Clippers is included in order to help compensate for obtaining a pair of expiring contracts.
Overall, the deal rids the Clippers of a position overlap in Harris and Gallinari, while providing additional salary cap relief in the way of expiring deals.