Danilo Gallinari chose a good year to be entering free agency.
He was a key piece in the Oklahoma City Thunder’s playoff chase, averaging more than 19 points and shooting about 44% from the field and 40% from deep.
His impact on the Thunder made him the sixth-best power forward in the NBA this season, according to Bleacher Report.
Andy Bailey and Dan Favale wrote:
Danilo Gallinari is still better than people realize. He is in his third season of posting a 60-plus true shooting percentage, a 35-plus free-throw-attempt rate and a 40-plus three-point-attempt rate, and he’s top 70 all time in career offensive box plus/minus. James Harden and Chauncey Billups are the only players with more such seasons.
The veteran also has savvy technique that allow him to stretch the floor, score and move well for a player of his size.
His pump-fake-and-go game is top-tier. And he’s one of the game’s best at identifying disadvantaged defenses and actually moving into a drive before the catch. He’s not the most explosive athlete, so even those plays didn’t often end with wide-open layups, but he draws plenty of fouls that way. His uber-efficient attack is a critical part of the Thunder’s success.
Gallinari’s problem throughout his career has been injury concerns. He hasn’t played at least 70 games since 2012-13, but an ACL tear in April of that season cost him the playoffs and the entirety of the next year.
This year, though, he only missed nine of 64 games, and his longest absence was four games in a row; all the rest were one-game off days.
Gallinari will be one of the marquee free agents this offseason for teams in need of a stretch-4. If the Thunder are to retain him, they may have to dig deep into their pockets.
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