Danilo Gallinari Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Northwest Rumors: Blazers, Gallinari, ‘Melo

February 7th, 2014 at 4:04pm CST by Chuck Myron

After the injured Russell Westbrook played his last game, the Thunder were tied with the Blazers atop the Northwest Division at 23-5. Since then, Oklahoma City has opened a four-game lead, even though Portland has been largely healthy. While the Blazers defense could use a boost if they’re to catch the Thunder, it’ll have to come from within, since coach Terry Stotts doesn’t expect the team will make any changes at the deadline, as he tells Sean Deveney of The Sporting News. Here’s more from the Northwest:

Danilo Gallinari tells Chris Dempsey of the Denver Post that he thinks he could have played on his surgically repaired left knee this season, but he says it wasn’t fully healed and he feared he’d shorten his career if he tried it out. He instead opted for another surgery that sidelines him for the season, but he expects to be ready for camp this fall.
There’s no consensus around the league about who got the better end of the Carmelo Anthony trade nearly three years later, observes Fred Kerber of the New York Post. Some are withholding judgment until after the season, when the draft choice New York still owes the Nuggets could become this year’s No. 1 overall pick.
The Thunder have assigned Andre Roberson to the D-League, the team announced. That makes it a half-dozen trips to the Tulsa 66ers for the rookie power forward, who’s still managed to start four games for the big club.

Danilo Gallinari To Miss Season

January 21st, 2014 at 2:35pm CST by Chuck Myron

Danilo Gallinari will miss the rest of the season after undergoing surgery on his ACL today, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. Gallinari didn’t have ACL surgery this past spring, instead having a procedure done to repair his meniscus, according to Wojnarowski (Twitter link). The Nuggets announced in April that he had torn the ACL in his left knee, and he hasn’t played in a game since. The doctor who performed the initial surgery believed Gallinari could strengthen the ACL enough to play on it without the traditional operation, but the knee didn’t respond, as Wojnarowski explains in his full story.

Gallinari said last week that the thought of missing the entire season had crossed his mind, a change from earlier, when he indicated he didn’t consider that a possibility. The Nuggets haven’t been the same without him, compiling a 20-20 record so far compared to last season’s 57-25 mark. The Warriors upset the Nuggets when they were without Gallinari in last year’s playoffs.

The 25-year-old is in the midst of a four-year, $42MM extension that runs through 2015/16 and pays him more than $10.1MM this season. The deadline to apply for a disabled player exception was January 15th, so the capped-out Nuggets can only sign a minimum-salary player to replace him. Today’s announcement strengthens the chance that Denver will look to make changes that favor the future over the present come the trade deadline.

The Nuggets will recoup some of their obligation to Gallinari this season through their insurance policy, which pays 80% of his salary for any games he misses over the latter part of the season. That’ll work out to a savings of about $4.5MM, tweets Chris Dempsey of the Denver Post.

Nuggets Rumors: Miller, Gallinari, Draft

January 15th, 2014 at 9:59am CST by Chuck Myron

Denver is perhaps the NBA’s streakiest team, having won seven in a row at one point and five in a row at another, with an eight-game losing skid in between. So far, it’s all more or less evened out, as Denver has a 19-18 record. Monday’s loss to the Jazz snapped their five-game win streak, perhaps signaling another string of defeats is on its way. Here’s the latest from the Rocky Mountains:

The Nuggets have no interest in acquiring J.R. Smith, be it in a trade for Andre Miller or otherwise, as Chris Mannix of SI.com reported earlier this morning, and it doesn’t look like there will be a Miller trade involving the Mavericks, either. In reference to the veteran point guard, Mavericks president of basketball operations Donnie Nelson told the BaD Radio program on 1310 The Ticket in Dallas that he’s satisfied with his backcourt and won’t be “looking to mess around with that” (transcription via the Dallas Morning News). Nelson also said the notion of Andrew Bynum joining the Mavs is “a long to long-long-long shot.”
Danilo Gallinari says the thought of missing the entire season has crossed his mind, but it’s still possible that he’ll return this year from his torn left ACL, as he tells Massimo Lopes Pegna of La Gazzetta dello Sport (translation via Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia). That’s a change from his comments two months ago, when it appeared likely that he would come back at some point in 2013/14.
Gallinari also told Pegna that the Nuggets are scouting Italian draft prospect Alessandro Gentile, who could be a second-round pick (translation via Carchia). The swingman is No. 69 in the DraftExpress prospect rankings, but No. 127 at ESPN.com.

Western Rumors: Nuggets, Turkoglu, Spurs

January 10th, 2014 at 8:29pm CST by Chuck Myron

There’s a chance, albeit a slim one, that Andre Miller will return to the Nuggets’ lineup before the team finds a trade for him, a source tells Chris Dempsey of the Denver Post. Miller has not rejoined the team since being suspended for a confrontation with coach Brian Shaw last week, and while the Nuggets continue to explore deals, they’ve been unsuccessful so far. One stumbling block has been the Kings‘ insistence on including Travis Outlaw in any such swap, as USA Today’s Sam Amick wrote earlier this evening. As we wait to find out when, or if, a Miller trade will happen, here’s more on the Nuggets and the rest of the Western Conference:

Hedo Turkoglu impressed during his workout with the Clippers today and the team is interested in signing him, Doc Rivers told reporters, including Arash Markazi of ESPNLosAngeles.com (Twitter link). Still, Rivers didn’t say when a signing might happen. Rivers is wary of change, as the coach also said in noting his reticence to consider Andrew Bynum, Markazi tweets.
Gregg Popovich explains that the “scary” effect midseason trades can have on team chemistry generally helps dissuade the Spurs from making such moves, as Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News observes. The Spurs are reportedly taking an “unusually aggressive” approach to trade talks this season.
The insurance on Danilo Gallinari‘s contract will pay the Nuggets 80% of his salary for any games he misses over the remainder of the season, Dempsey notes, amending his earlier report that said the insurance would cover 50%. The team will save about $99K per game.
Ricky Rubio was supposed to represent one of the Timberwolves’ notable draft successes in recent years, but his lack of development is making 2009’s haul, which included Jonny Flynn, look even worse, opines Jim Souhan of the Star Tribune.

Luke Adams contributed to this post.

Odds & Ends: Gallinari, Rockets, Gortat

November 23rd, 2013 at 11:16pm CST by Chuck Myron

Significant injuries dominated Saturday’s NBA headlines, and the Nuggets got a mix of good news and bad about a key player who suffered an ACL injury last spring. Danilo Gallinari won’t be back by the end of this month, as he said he would be in September, and he remains “very far away” from returning to the Nuggets, according to Christopher Dempsey of the Denver Post. Gallinari nonetheless tells Dempsey that he isn’t likely to be out all season. Here’s more from around the Association:

Continued strong play from Terrence Jones could make the Rockets feel more comfortable with targeting the best player regardless of position in an Omer Asik trade, as Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle observes (on Twitter).
Marcin Gortat chats with SB Nation’s James Herbert about his adjustment to playing with the Wizards and looks back on his time with coach Stan Van Gundy, whom the center calls the “godfather” of his career. Gortat says he’d like to play for Van Gundy again.
Even though the Sixers will probably head into next summer armed with a pair of lottery picks and plenty of cap space, fans shouldn’t expect a contending team, according to Tom Moore of the Bucks County Courier Times, who warns that the rebuild will likely take longer than one year.
Ray Allen criticized David West for prioritizing money over title contention when West spurned the Celtics to sign with the Pacers in 2011. Still, the power forward believed then that the Pacers had the greater long-term championship hopes, as West tells Ben Rohrbach of WEEI.com.

Luke Adams contributed to this post.

Northwest Notes: Jazz, Nuggets, Faried

November 21st, 2013 at 3:26pm CST by Zachary Links

The Jazz are struggling quite a bit to start the season, but George Karl seems to think the Bucks will finish in the cellar and have the best odds at the top pick, writes Bob Wolfey of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. “Milwaukee keeps coming to me. They just don’t have enough talent right now. Injuries have taken their best players off the court. They could get into a position that they dig the hole so deep that, philosophically, it might be in their best interests for a poor season,” said the one-time Milwaukee coach. Here’s more out of the Northwest Division..

In today’s mailbag, a reader asks Chris Dempsey of The Denver Post why the Nuggets would consider trading Kenneth Faried given the production that he has given Denver. Dempsey says that Faried isn’t going anywhere, though it won’t stop other teams from calling.
Nuggets forward Danilo Gallinari, who has been sidelined for quite some time, gets homesick occasionally, but he told Italian outlet Il Corriere della Sera that he wants to play in the NBA for as long as possible, according to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando.
Justin Holiday signed to play with Hungary’s Szolnoki Olajbanyasz, according to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. Holiday, who was in training camp with the Jazz this summer, spent last season with Idaho Stampede and averaged 17.3 points, 5.8 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 2.4 steals per game.

Nuggets Notes: Kroenke, Ujiri, D’Alessandro

November 3rd, 2013 at 2:02pm CST by Charlie Adams

The new-look Nuggets have yet to win a game in the 2013/14 season and find themselves underneath the Timberwolves, Trail Blazers, and Thunder in the Northwest Division. There’s still a lot of basketball to be played, and the Nuggets are surely looking forward to Ty Lawson‘s health improving and the return of forwards Wilson Chandler and Danilo Gallinari down the road. Here’s some Denver-related notes from around the league:

Nuggets president Josh Kroenke isn’t satisfied with the mild success his team has enjoyed in recent years, but Benjamin Hochman of the Denver Post argues the team needn’t strip down the roster to build a true contender, instead advocating the team pool its assets and trade for a star.
The Nuggets came close to trading for a high draft pick this past June, Hochman reveals in the same piece.
The departures of Masai Ujiri, Pete D’Alessandro and others from the Nuggets front office this summer is an affirmation rather than an indictment of Kroenke and the Denver organization, which is already drawing raves for its new hires, as fellow Post scribe Christopher Dempsey observes.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Western Notes: Aldridge, Kanter, Gallinari, Pau

September 26th, 2013 at 7:23pm CST by Ryan Raroque

Ben Golliver of BlazersEdge relays a portion of the transcript from a radio interview between Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports and John Canzano of 750 AM The Game as it relates to trade rumors surrounding LaMarcus Aldridge. Wojnarowski believes that while the circumstances could change, he can't imagine Aldridge leaving Portland in the foreseeable future and adds that the team hasn't shopped him. He's also not sure if the market is currently presenting anything worth trading for and doesn't think Trail Blazers GM Neil Olshey is likely to deal the 6'11 big man for pennies on the dollar. Here are more miscellaneous notes out of the Western Conference tonight, including a handful of injury updates:

Tim Cowlishaw of SportsDayDFW thinks that while the Mavericks could be okay this year, he's concerned about two to three years down the line when the team might not have any young stars to build around.
In a piece for The Oregonian, Canzano says that he wants someone from the Trail Blazers to step up and guarantee a playoff berth.
Bill Oram of The Salt Lake Tribune reports that Jazz big man Enes Kanter has looked great in workouts, has had no issues with his shoulder, and participated in 5-on-5 scrimmages today for the first time since his injury (Twitter links).
Nuggets head coach Brian Shaw wouldn't commit to any projected recovery timetable for injured forward Danilo Gallinari, saying that it isn't "anything that anyone can determine at this point" (Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post).
Mark Medina of InsideSocal passes along an injury update from Lakers forward Pau Gasol, who looks to be fully healthy heading into this season after a summer of much-need rest and rehab.
In a piece for Sports Illustrated, Ben Golliver made note that Rockets guard James Harden believes that he is a top-10 player (hat tip to Comcast Sportsnet Houston): "For sure. Last year I got a chance to prove it, I kind of broke out of the shell a little bit. Even though it was my first year (as a starter), I've got a lot more to prove. I've always kind of been the underdog, always been looked over, so it's nothing new."
Sean Meagher of OregonLive.com provides season previews for the Thunder and Jazz with help from Darnell Mayberry of NewsOK and Bill Oram of The Salt Lake Tribune, respectively.
Jim Eichenhofer of Pelicans.com continued his list of reasons to be excited about training camp in New Orleans, listing a fresh start for Tyreke Evans at number five.

Odds & Ends: Hawks, Iguodala, Pistons, Gallinari

June 14th, 2013 at 11:13pm CST by Chuck Myron

Mark Deeks of ShamSports.com doesn't think the Hawks will have much trouble if they want to trade Lou Williams to free up more cap space in the pursuit of two max free agents this summer. He also believes the team wouldn't hesitate to pull off other moves necessary to clear room (Twitter links). If the Hawks renounce all their cap holds and keep their pair of first-round picks, they'd be about $1.9MM shy of the cap space necessary to sign Dwight Howard and Chris Paul, providing next season's salary cap checks in at the projected $58.5MM. The Hawks might not be at the top of likely destinations for the rumored D12-CP3 pairing, but it appears that won't stop them from trying. With half a month to go until teams and free agents can start lining up agreements, here's more from around the Association:

Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports, who broke the news that Andre Iguodala will opt out and become a free agent, listed Detroit as a likely suitor, and Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press echoes that sentiment, writing that the Pistons like the veteran small forward.
Nuggets president Josh Kroenke cited Danilo Gallinari's lengthy recovery from a torn ACL when he explained the team's decision to let go of George Karl, but now it appears Gallinari could be back in December, not February, as Benjamin Hochman of the Denver Post reports.
Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman makes a compelling case that the Thunder should trade the 12th pick in the draft to the Hawks for the 17th and 18th selections. Part of the financial side of the argument is based on Mayberry's expectation that OKC won't re-sign Kevin Martin and won't look to replace him via free agency.
Mark Singelais of the Albany Times Union profiles Siena forward O.D. Anosike, a second-round hopeful who joined Tim Hardaway Jr., Glen Rice Jr., Jackie Carmichael and others in a group workout Thursday for the Celtics.
MLive's David Mayo passes along a list of players who worked out for the Pistons this week: Andre Roberson, Robert Covington, James Southerland, Adonis Thomas, Mareks Mejeris, A'uston Calhoun, Nick Minnerath and Kwame Vaughn.
Small-market owners may have been the prime movers behind the latest CBA, but they're still hamstrung by unbalanced local TV revenues. That could lead to another work stoppage and watered-down rosters across the league, ESPN's J.A. Adande argues.

Odds & Ends: Jackson, Drew, Allen, Hollins

May 30th, 2013 at 7:45pm CST by Ryan Raroque

Although Phil Jackson recently criticized Mike D'Antoni and seemed skeptical about the thought of Dwight Howard wanting to re-sign with the Lakers, the eleven-time NBA champion coach appeared to backtrack on those comments during an appearance on the Willard and Thompson Show on 710 ESPN Radio in Los Angeles (Mark Medina of the L.A. Daily News). Also, Jackson reiterated that he has no plans of coaching again and explained how he's still somewhat connected with his former team: "I’m playing a role regardless whether I’m hired and on the staff and part of the payroll, I’m here to be a sounding board and personal companion to my fiance, who’s the chief operating officer I guess you would say of the Lakers. As they ferry their way through these contract problems they have and the whole mess they have right now in the organization, I’m listening. There’s not a whole lot I’m doing. But my role right now is to be attentive and supportive.”

Here are more of tonight's miscellaneous news and notes:

The Pistons and former Hawks coach Larry Drew appear to have some mutual interest in an interview for Drew, sources tell Vincent Goodwill of the Detroit News. Drew is believed to be one of two finalists for the Bucks' coaching opening, along with Rockets assistant Kelvin Sampson.
Chris Tomasson of FOX Sports Florida tweets that Heat guard Ray Allen hasn't thought about whether or not he'll pick up his $3.23MM player option this summer.
Marc J. Spears of Yahoo tweets that the Nets, Clippers, and Bucks have not contacted the Grizzlies for permission to talk to Lionel Hollins as of yet. Coincidentally, we relayed a report yesterday which indicated that the 59-year-old coach doesn't expect to be granted permission to speak with other teams before his contract expires on June 30.
In light of the rumblings that the Nuggets might not match the Raptors' five-year, $15MM offer to Masai Ujiri, SBNation’s Tom Ziller makes the argument that coaches and general managers should be paid more.
Ben Couch of BrooklynNets.com reviews Gerald Wallace’s season in Brooklyn. Just over a month ago, Wallace had alarmingly admitted that he didn’t “have a clue” as to what his role on the team was, but as of today the veteran forward seemed to be encouraged about what his future holds with the Nets: "All in all I think this was kind of a down year for me, but I feel comfortable and excited about the way I finished the season," Wallace says."I'm going into the summer knowing the things I can do to get better."
Marcus Thompson of Mercury News reported that Warriors big man David Lee had surgery to repair a torn right hip flexor today and is expected to begin rehab within the next two weeks.
According to Benjamin Hochman of The Denver Post, Nuggets forward Danilo Gallinari had a slight setback in rehab and won't have surgery on his ACL for another two weeks. Consequently, an expected return date of January 1 has now changed to late January or February.