THURSDAY, 10:05am: The Grizzlies are among the teams pursuing Gallinari via trade as they look to add shooting, Marc Stein of ESPN.com tweets.
WEDNESDAY, 10:14pm: The Nuggets are shopping forward Danilo Gallinari, Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports reports (Twitter link). This news contradicts a report made back in May by Mark Kiszla of The Denver Post, who relayed that Denver intended to build around the Italian forward and big man Jusuf Nurkic. However, a more recent posting by Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post noted that GM Tim Connelly indicated anyone might be moved if the right deal comes along. “The variables come when you get one phone call and the best-laid plans go out of the window,” Connelly said. “But we’re pretty active and aggressive. We’ve got a lot of calls out there and a lot of scenarios in play. I can’t say for certain that where we stand today is where we’re going to stand on draft night.” Denver, which already holds the seventh overall choice, is rumored to be seeking another lottery pick.
Gallinari, who was the centerpiece for the Nuggets in the trade that sent Carmelo Anthony to the Knicks back in 2011, signed a four-year, $42MM extension in 2012 which runs through the 2015/16 campaign. He is scheduled to earn a salary of $11,559,225 this coming season.
The 26-year-old has been productive for the Nuggets when he has been able to remain on the court. But injuries have limited Gallinari to just 43 contests in 2011/12, 71 for the 2012/13 campaign, zero appearances in 2013/14, and finally, 59 games this past season. His career numbers are 14.2 points, 4.5 rebounds, 1.8 assists, and a slash line of .416/.367/.851.