Danilo Gallinari Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Western Notes: Walton, Pelicans, Gallinari, Paul

March 29th, 2016 at 2:49pm CST by Chuck Myron

Warriors assistant Luke Walton is reportedly poised to become a top candidate for the Knicks coaching vacancy, and the Lakers, Suns, Rockets and Kings are expected to target him, too, but former colleague Alvin Gentry thinks Walton still doesn’t gets the credit he deserves, notes Marc Berman of the New York Post. Gentry, now head coach of the Pelicans, was on Golden State’s staff last year with Walton, who inherited Gentry’s role as lead assistant and guided the Warriors to a 39-4 record while head coach Steve Kerr recovered from back surgeries. “Luke did an unbelievable job of managing egos, of rotations he played,” Gentry said. “Everything that happened there, he pushed the right buttons, so I was disappointed when people said anybody can coach that team. That’s not true at all. He has an unbelievable understanding of the game. I think [Knicks president] Phil [Jackson] knows that. [Luke] stayed in the league for a long time because of the basketball IQ he has. He gets along great with players. He’s going to be a terrific coach in the league – I really do think that.”

See more from the Western Conference:

Jrue Holiday and Alonzo Gee are out for the rest of the season, which ends two weeks from Wednesday, the Pelicans announced. That means seven New Orleans players are finished for 2015/16. Holiday, who fractured his orbital bone, and Gee, who ruptured a right quadriceps muscle, join Anthony Davis, Quincy Pondexter, Eric Gordon, Bryce Dejean-Jones and Tyreke Evans on the shelf for the year. Ryan Anderson and Norris Cole are also dealing with less severe injuries, the team said.
Danilo Gallinari doesn’t expect to play again this season for the Nuggets, as he said in an interview with Sky Sport of Italy (video link; translation via Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia). Coach Michael Malone told reporters early this month that the team was thinking about shutting him down even if he recovered before season’s end from the two torn ligaments he suffered in his right ankle February 26th. Denver has since signed Axel Toupane for the balance of the season and beyond.
Chris Paul won’t play for Team USA in the Olympics this year, telling Sports Illustrated’s Lee Jenkins that he’s withdrawing his name from consideration for the squad. “I feel my body telling me that I could use the time,” the 30-year-old said. Paul can opt out of his contract with the Clippers after next season.

Northwest Notes: Leonard, Durant, Gallinari

March 25th, 2016 at 4:46pm CST by Chuck Myron

Meyers Leonard plans to re-sign with the Trail Blazers as a restricted free agent this summer, observes Jason Quick of Comcast Sports Northwest. Soon-to-be free agents more often than not say they intend to return to their incumbent teams, but Leonard also plans to rehabilitate his season-ending dislocated left shoulder with the Blazers medical staff, as Quick also points out. The injury is expected to keep him out six to eight months, which threatens his availability for the start of next season. The 2016/17 regular season begins in seven months. “It just hurts because I feel like I could help this team win,’’ Leonard said. “I feel like I can be a big piece of what we can do.” Quick examines the close bond Leonard feels with Damian Lillard, a fellow 2012 lottery pick who signed a five-year extension last summer, when Leonard bet on himself and turned down what Quick heard was a considerable extension offer. The scribe guesses that the big man will command a new contract in the neighborhood of $44MM over four years (Twitter link). See more from the Northwest Division:

University of Connecticut coach Kevin Ollie, a former teammate of Kevin Durant and a rumored candidate for the Thunder coaching vacancy that Billy Donovan filled last year, believes it’ll take a major effort for any team to pry Durant away from Oklahoma City in free agency this year, as Ollie tells Raul Barrigon of HoopsHype. Ollie describes Durant and Russell Westbrook as two of his best friends. “I know he’s going to make a decision with his heart,” Ollie said of Durant. “I know he’s gonna do that, choose the best situation for his family, the best position to win a championship. And OKC has a great team, I know he loves Russell Westbrook, I know he loves playing in front of the Thunder fans, so it’s going to take a team to do a great recruiting job to get him away from OKC.”
Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post thinks the Nuggets aren’t quite as opposed to the idea of trading Danilo Gallinari as they are with Emmanuel Mudiay and Nikola Jokic, but the team still envisions Gallinari as a driving force on a team with a legitimate shot at the playoffs next season, as Dempsey writes in a mailbag column.
The Thunder has assigned Josh Huestis to the D-League, the team announced. It’s the 14th time the team has sent the No. 29 pick from 2014 to the D-League this season.

Northwest Notes: Sampson, Augustin, Hood

March 24th, 2016 at 3:01pm CST by Chuck Myron

JaKarr Sampson is surprised about how easily he’s fit in with the Nuggets since joining the team last month, as Nicki Jhabvala and Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post relay. Sampson signed a two-year deal following a snafu that caused the Sixers to lose him, and he’s filled in as a starter for the injured Danilo Gallinari. Sampson is dealing with a strained right shoulder himself, but he played through it Wednesday, and his time in Denver has been smooth thus far. “The transition has been easy,” Sampson said. “My teammates have made it easy for me and coach [Michael Malone] has made it easy for me. So, it hasn’t been hard, the transition — new sets, new teammates. I love my teammates. We’ve got a great staff here. Everything has been easy for me.”

See more from Denver amid news from the Northwest Division:

D.J. Augustin, who says he’d love to re-sign with the Nuggets this summer, has made a strong impression in his brief time with Denver since coming over via trade last month, observes Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post. “D.J.’s our security blanket,” Malone said. “He’s won games for us. Put the ball into his hands in the fourth quarter and he steps up, makes shots, hits free throws and always makes the right play.”
Jazz GM Dennis Lindsey is excited about Rodney Hood‘s room for continued growth, notes Kareem Copeland of The Associated Press, and the team is proving wise for having selected him 23rd overall in 2014, Copeland argues. “What we saw was a guy that was somewhat sophisticated with the ball and with his reads,” Lindsey said. “It was relatively evident fairly quick that he’d be a nice fit for us. It’s to the kid’s credit that he’s gotten better since this time last year.”
The Thunder have focused too much on adding scoring punch around Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook and not enough on finding role players, argues Christopher Reina of RealGM. That plus their reliance on traditional big men threatens to leave the franchise in a compromising position, unable to win a title despite the presence of two elite players, Reina writes.

Nuggets Rumors: Nurkic, Mudiay, Jokic, Gallinari

March 20th, 2016 at 4:47pm CST by Arthur Hill

Nuggets center Jusuf Nurkic is trying to pick up the pieces of an injury-plagued second season in the NBA, writes Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post. After earning second-team all-rookie honors in 2014/15, Nurkic has seen his playing time and effectiveness limited by an aching left knee. He had surgery during the offseason to repair a partially torn patellar tendon, but the knee hasn’t responded the way he hoped it would. He is averaging 6.8 points and 4.8 rebounds in just 23 games. “I can’t control this stuff,” Nurkic said. “When I hear my name I go in. I haven’t heard it a lot this season for some reason, but I will be a professional until the end and try to finish the season the right way.” In October, Denver picked up his option for 2016/17 at $1,921,320. He also has a team option for 2017/18 at $2,947,305.

There’s more news today out of Denver:

Both Emmanuel Mudiay and Nikola Jokic have strong cases to be first-team choices on this season’s all-rookie team, Dempsey contends in a separate story. Mudiay, the seventh player selected in the 2015 draft, leads NBA rookies in assists with 5.7 per game and is fourth in scoring average at 12.3 points per night. His main competition for first-team honors in the backcourt will come from the Lakers’ D’Angelo Russell and the Suns’ Devin Booker, Dempsey believes. Jokic was a second-round pick in 2014 who played in the Adriatic and Serbian leagues before coming to the NBA. He ranks second among rookies behind the Wolves’ Karl-Anthony Towns in player efficiency rating and is fourth in rebounding and eighth in scoring.
The Nuggets don’t know if Danilo Gallinari will play again this season, but the injured small forward plans to be part of the Italian team in the Summer Olympics, according to Marco “Barzo” Barzizza of Eurosport [hat tip to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando]. Gallinari suffered two torn ligaments in his right ankle during a late February game. The injury was expected to keep him out of action for about a month, but the Nuggets may shut him down for the season even if he does recover. “I don’t know if I’ll be back before the end of the season,” Gallinari said. “I am very happy to be in Denver and before thinking about new teams I hope to win something here and to play for the Denver Nuggets for many years.”

Nuggets Sign Axel Toupane To 10-Day Deal

March 3rd, 2016 at 2:49pm CST by Chuck Myron

THURSDAY, 2:49pm: The signing is official, the team announced via press release. The contract will cover five games, against the Nets, Mavs, Knicks, Suns Wizards.

TUESDAY, 9:36am: The Nuggets plan to sign Raptors affiliate player Axel Toupane to a 10-day contract, league sources tell Shams Charania of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). The 23-year-old swingman has been playing for Toronto’s D-League team since the Raptors cut him from the NBA roster at the end of the preseason. Denver has an open roster spot and a need on the wing with Danilo Gallinari expected to miss the next month after tearing two ligaments in his right ankle, as The Vertical’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported overnight.

Toupane is averaging 14.6 points and 5.6 rebounds in 29.7 minutes per game for Raptors 905, Toronto’s D-League outpost. It’s his first season in North America, as he spent the past several years with Strasbourg IG in his native France. He went scoreless in about 22 minutes of preseason action spread over two games on the NBA roster this past fall.

He’ll bolster the team’s depth in the wake of the Gallinari injury, one that presents a serious challenge to Denver’s ability to compete, in part because fellow small forward Wilson Chandler was already out for the season. The 27-year-old Gallinari is in the midst of a career year, fresh off a renegotiation and extension that ties him to Denver until at least the summer of 2017, when he can opt out. The eighth-year veteran’s 19.5 points per game are by far a career high, and he’s the leading scorer for the Nuggets, who have faint playoff hopes as they sit six games back of the eighth-place Rockets.

The Nuggets can’t receive an additional disabled player exception and already spent the one they had for Chandler in their deadline-day trade for D.J. Augustin and Steve Novak. A wrist injury threatens to sideline Jameer Nelson for the season, but Denver is still one long-term injury shy of qualifying for a 16th roster spot via hardship.

Nuggets Consider Shutting Down Danilo Gallinari

March 3rd, 2016 at 8:01am CST by Chuck Myron

The Nuggets are thinking about sitting Danilo Gallinari for the rest of the season even if he returns to health with a few games left on the schedule, coach Michael Malone acknowledged to reporters, including Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post. The 27-year-old small forward suffered two torn ligaments in his right ankle during Friday’s game that are expected to sideline him for a month, as Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports reported Tuesday, the same day that The Vertical’s Shams Charania reported the team would sign D-League small forward Axel Toupane to a 10-day contract.

Only five games are on the schedule for the Nuggets in April, as Dempsey points out, raising the question of whether it would be wise to put the team’s veteran centerpiece back on the court and risk additional injury with only a few games left to go.

“I’ve already thought about that. I don’t have an answer,” Malone said. “I think it’s a very good question. At that point, depending on where we are, it’s going to depend on four games to go, what is the picture? Are we 15 games out of the playoffs? Well, it probably makes sense to play some of our younger guys and let them get minutes and see what they can do. But we’ll see.”

Denver is six games behind the Rockets, who hold the final playoff spot in the Western Conference. Malone said the team would consult Gallinari to see whether he wants to return to action, adding that the Michael Tellem client had earned the right to have input with his performance this season. The eighth-year veteran is in the midst of his best year in the NBA, averaging 19.5 points and 5.3 rebounds in 34.7 minutes per game, all career highs.

The Nuggets couldn’t get a disabled player exception, even if Gallinari becomes likely to miss the rest of the season, and while Wilson Chandler and Jameer Nelson are also sidelined, Denver still falls short of the four long-term injuries needed to qualify for an extra roster spot via hardship. The team already spent the disabled player exception it reaped from Chandler’s season-ending injury in the deadline-day trade with the Thunder. Nelson hasn’t played since January 30th because of a severely sprained left wrist, though he was available for Wednesday’s game, Dempsey notes. Kenneth Faried and Emmanuel Mudiay did play Wednesday despite minor ailments.

Gallinari is signed through next season with a player option for 2017/18, thanks to a rare renegotiation and extension deal that he and the team pulled off this past summer. The Nuggets reportedly turned away interest that the Celtics had in trading for him before last month’s deadline.

Western Notes: Wolves, Motiejunas, Gallinari

February 29th, 2016 at 8:58am CST by Chuck Myron

Timberwolves interim coach Sam Mitchell would like for his team to make a signing, lamenting how “awfully thin” the Wolves are inside, but he doesn’t anticipate a move until well after Tuesday, the last day players can hit waivers and still be eligible to play in the postseason for another team, notes Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune. Mitchell, who isn’t assured of his job beyond this season, said the Wolves will be patient while free agents head to playoff-bound teams, according to Zgoda.

“After the dust settles, there are going to be some guys out there we’ll want to look at,” Mitchell said. “You don’t want to do it too fast because you don’t want to fill a spot and then someone becomes available. There are only so many playoff teams and only so many roster spots.”

Minnesota has an opening in the wake of its buyout with Andre Miller, and the team has reportedly engaged in advanced discussions with Kevin Martin about a buyout, too. See more from the Western Conference.

Donatas Motiejunas said he doesn’t resent the Rockets for trying to trade him to Detroit, observes Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle. The deadline-day trade that would have sent the soon-to-be restricted free agent to the Pistons fell apart when he didn’t pass Detroit’s physical. Motiejunas played nine minutes Sunday in his first action for Houston since December 31st. “I feel good,” Motiejunas said. “This team traded me because of the first-round pick, the lottery pick. It’s a big thing. I don’t see any problems with it. They were really waiting for me to get back. I love these guys, love the team, love the fans.”
Danilo Gallinari expects that he’ll miss the next three to four weeks with injury, as he told Davide Chinellato of La Gazzetta dello Sport (Twitter link). The leading scorer for the Nuggets had an MRI on Saturday after suffering a severely sprained right ankle in Friday’s game, notes Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post. The team has an open roster spot.
Steve Kerr and Draymond Green largely dismissed any idea of tension stemming from a tirade that Green delivered to Warriors coaches at halftime of Saturday’s game, notes Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle. The versatile frontcourt player, who’s missed his last 12 3-pointers, was upset because he felt the coaches don’t want him to shoot, according to ESPN’s Lisa Salters.

Pacific Notes: Griffin, Schlenk, Nance

February 15th, 2016 at 10:31am CST by Chuck Myron

Clippers president of basketball operations Doc Rivers told ESPN’s Chris Broussard that there isn’t truth to the idea that his team offered Blake Griffin and Lance Stephenson to the Nuggets for Danilo Gallinari, Kenneth Faried, Will Barton and Nikola Jokic, as a source who spoke with the reporter had said earlier. Broussard relayed the exchange in an appearance on ESPN Radio’s “Mike & Mike” show (audio link; scroll to 6-minute mark), adding that the source had told him the Nuggets turned down the offer out of concern that Griffin would opt out and leave in free agency after next season. That jibes with an earlier report from Mitch Lawrence of Forbes, who indicated 10 days ago that the Clippers had engaged the Nuggets in talks about Griffin, though Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times reported shortly thereafter that the Clippers had no interest in trading their star power forward, a refrain that Rivers repeated in the days that followed. See more from the Pacific Division:

Kings owner Vivek Ranadive is known to be high on Warriors assistant GM Travis Schlenk, writes Ailene Voisin of The Sacramento Bee amid a piece that argues the Kings should bring in an experienced front office hand to work beneath GM Vlade Divac. Sacramento reportedly interviewed Schlenk for the lead front office role in 2013, and he was believed to be one of the candidates to fill former GM Pete D’Alessandro‘s chair in Divac’s front office this past summer.
The Kings anticipate making a minor move at Thursday’s trade deadline, Voisin writes in the same column, speculating that such a trade could involve Marco Belinelli or Ben McLemore going out for draft picks or a wing defender.
Bobby Marks of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports lists Larry Nance Jr. alongside Jordan Clarkson, Julius Randle and D’Angelo Russell among those the Lakers should refuse to trade and instead make the focal point of their rebuilding efforts.

Celtics Rumors: Lee, Thomas, Horford, Love

February 14th, 2016 at 10:02am CST by Arthur Hill

The trade deadline is just four days away, but the Celtics don’t feel any urgency to make a deal, according to Mark Murphy of The Boston Herald. A league source told Murphy that Friday’s rumored three-team trade with Cleveland and New York “never existed” and that Boston hasn’t talked to the Rockets about acquiring Dwight Howard. The Celtics are willing to add a player for the right price, but they believe everyone currently in play is overpriced. The source said that includes the Hawks’ Al Horford, whom the Celtics don’t want to invest heavily in because of his looming free agency. Boston had interest in the Nuggets’ Danilo Gallinari, but the source said that would-be deal was “a dead issue” before it was even reported.

There’s more this morning out of Boston:

The Celtics haven’t found any teams interested in David Lee and his $15.5MM contract, Murphy writes in the same piece. The source said Lee has “no value” around the league, even though his expiring deal presents an opportunity for cap relief this summer.
Isaiah Thomas recently became a recruiter when a player from another team asked him about the benefits of Boston, Murphy adds. Thomas, who used the reputation of coach Brad Stevens as one of his selling points, wouldn’t offer any clues as to who the player was. “The coaching staff is great and the organization is 100% – it’s A1,” Thomas said. “I told him, You watch us. It’s fun to watch us. We were joking around the locker room about how everyone likes to watch the Boston Celtics, and how hard we play.”
The unidentified player may have been Horford, speculates A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE. He noted that Thomas smiled and said, “I didn’t say that” when asked if it was Horford he was talking about. A late replacement pick for the All-Star Game, Horford is trying to focus on business as usual despite the trade talk. “I’m going to continue doing what I do,” he said. “I can’t control the speculation that’s going on.”
It’s unlikely the Celtics can get Kevin Love from Cleveland without a third team involved, Blakely said in an interview on SportsNet Central. Blakely explained that Boston has enough young players and draft picks to make a deal happen, but such a move wouldn’t get Cleveland any closer to a championship.

Atlantic Notes: Zeller, Jackson, Biyombo

February 10th, 2016 at 6:30pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Mike Conley, who is set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer, was disappointed that the Nets fired Lionel Hollins, who had coached Conley during his tenure with the Grizzlies, Andy Vasquez of The Record relays (via Twitter). The point guard also noted that Hollins’ presence would have been a major reason to consider signing with Brooklyn this offseason, Vasquez adds. Conley is slotted fifth in Hoops Rumors’ latest free agent power rankings. Here’s more regarding the Atlantic Division:

The Knicks’ players say they are also to blame for the team’s woes, not just former coach Derek Fisher, Neil Best of Newsday writes. “I think sometimes coaches get blamed, but it’s just about everybody,” said point guard Jose Calderon. “He was the guy let go but at the end of the day we are all together, from the top to the bottom of the staff, players, everybody. It’s tough to see him go like that because maybe we weren’t winning games lately, but it’s tough to see somebody go like that. It’s on us to turn this around or not and we’ve been saying that for a couple of weeks now.”
Celtics big man Tyler Zeller has become a valuable contributor recently after playing sparingly the past few weeks, Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com notes. “A true pro, a guy who’s been on the bad end of the stick and hasn’t really played that much,” Thomas said of Zeller. “Every time his name is called he’s ready, and that’s the definition of a true professional right there. He puts the work in each and every day, and he’s a great teammate.” Boston reportedly contacted the Hawks about a potential deal for center Al Horford before Zeller’s recent success.
Knicks team president Phil Jackson has an opt out clause in his contract that he can exercise after the 2016/17 season, Chris Broussard of ESPN.com notes (Twitter link). A “strong belief” persists that Jackson will wind up back with the Lakers organization and fiancee Jeanie Buss in the future, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical at Yahoo Sports.
Bismack Biyombo has been a solid addition to the Raptors this season and he is providing better value than Amir Johnson, who departed as a free agent this past offseason, is for the Celtics, Ben Golliver of SI.com opines. Johnson is earning $12MM this season in Boston while Biyombo is due $2.814MM from the Raptors.
Well before the arrival of Kristaps Porzingis, Italian big man Danilo Gallinari was considered the future of the Knicks franchise, but the team instead dealt him as part of a package to acquire Carmelo Anthony. The combo forward says he still has fond memories of his time in New York despite the team trading him away, George Willis of The New York Post writes. “It was tough for me because I got injured right away and had back surgery,” Gallinari said. “But it’s great when you’re a young player and you have the chance to play in a city like New York. My first two years were very intense and the third year we started winning and when you’re winning, New York is a lot of fun.” The Celtics are reportedly interested in acquiring Gallinari, but the Nuggets have rebuffed them so far.