Danilo Gallinari hasn’t slowed down from last season’s strong showing, averaging over 18 points per game for the Oklahoma City Thunder so far. Although the Thunder currently sit one game behind the eighth seed in the West, they are likely to be sellers rather than buyers during the trade deadline.
The Thunder are not contenders, and knowing this they stockpiled a plethora of draft picks this summer. Chris Paul has been the biggest name in their trade rumors, but Gallinari can be the perfect addition to teams one piece away from a potential championship. The Italian can shoot and score with the best of them.
Danilo Gallinari Trade Ideas
Danilo Gallinari Solves the Portland Trail Blazers’ Front Court Rotation
Trade: Thunder send Gallinari to the Portland Trail Blazers for Hassan Whiteside and a lottery-protected first round pick.
Carmelo Anthony has been a solid addition so far, but he isn’t the solution for Portland’s current issues. It’s clear as day that Portland is struggling up front, and Gallinari provides the perfect scoring punch. An offense including Gallinari alongside Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum would be alongside the league’s best.
Whiteside is important for Portland now due to Jusuf Nurkic and Zach Collins being out with injury. This will not be the case during the deadline. It’s hard to imagine a scenario where Gallinari opts to stay with a rebuilding Thunder team this summer, so exchanging him for another expiring contract will still give the team cap space to work with this summer.
Furthermore, the Thunder will be adding another first round pick. Portland has already dug themselves into somewhat of a hole record-wise, so if they made the playoffs the pick may very well be in the top 20.
Adding a first round pick for a player they’re likely to lose over the summer would be a solid move by the Thunder. Portland, on the other hand, would immediately bolster their contending status.
Danilo Gallinari Vaults the Phoenix Suns into the Playoffs
Trade: The Thunder send Gallinari and Abdel Nader to the Phoenix Suns for Dario Saric, Tyler Johnson, and Mikal Bridges.
The Suns are clearly finished with being the league’s laughing stock. They’ve cooled down from their hot start, but are still right in the middle of the playoff race for the seventh or eighth seed.
The return of Deandre Ayton will only improve the squad, but having another scoring option like Gallinari would complete the team. Saric is a similar player, but Gallinari is still miles ahead of him. In addition, Nader can be a useful piece off of the bench.
Johnson’s departure leads to more time for first round pick Ty Jerome. Bridges’ departure does the same for Cam Johnson.
The Thunder should gladly take Saric. He’s a restricted free agent this summer, allowing the team to clear cap space, but then they also have first rights to what is a solid player. Furthermore, the Thunder would get a former lottery pick in Bridges. The former Villanova star could flourish with more minutes as he has yet to break out. The talent is definitely there.
Johnson is one of the league’s questionable contracts. His play is not worthy of $19 million a year, but his contract is also an expiring one.
This trade will greatly improve Phoenix’s starting five, while it would give the Thunder a young player in Bridges and the decision to keep a solid scorer in Saric, or simply keep Bridges and gain cap space.
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