Carmelo Anthony Trade: Danilo Gallinari Now on His Way To The Nets or Clippers?
Carmelo Anthony was traded to the New York Knicks last night in exchange for Danilo Gallinari, a few other players and some future draft picks.
Many Nuggets fans scoured for a silver lining to this story, and they found it in the hope that Gallinari could become a star in Denver.
They're hoping they may have found Melo's replacement already.
It appears as though Denver management wants nothing to do with that blind optimism. They're already rumored to be thinking about where they can send Gallo and what they can get for him.
Some of the main teams who are reported to have interest in the young forward are the New Jersey Nets, Cleveland Cavaliers, Toronto Raptors and Los Angeles Clippers.
Let's see how Gallo would look with those teams...
New Jersey Nets
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The Nets did not come away with their prized target in Carmelo Anthony. But all indications point toward them still being active at the trade deadline.
Devin Harris will almost certainly be gone by Thursday, some having him landing in Atlanta in exchange for Jamal Crawford.
As for Gallinari, acquiring him would be a mistake for New Jersey. They shouldn't feel rushed to get something done just because they missed out on Melo.
Gallinari would only be a temporary fix. He's most likely a complimentary player, and not worth the draft pick Denver will certainly be asking for.
Cleveland Cavaliers
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I think it would be a mistake for Cleveland to go after Gallinari as well (although a much smaller one).
They need to be doing whatever they can to horde or stockpile draft picks because this team's savior is likely not in the NBA right now.
Toronto Raptors
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This is an interesting proposal. Having an all-Italian, sharpshooting frontcourt would certainly bring some buzz back to this franchise.
Gallinari and Andrea Bargnani are both young, so they could grow together and become a very difficult duo to matchup with (because of their range and length).
Los Angeles Clippers
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Outside of the Nuggets, I think Gallinari would fit best in this situation.
The main piece the Clippers still need is a small forward. A starting lineup of Baron Davis, Eric Gordon, Danilo Gallinari, Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan could be in the playoffs as early as next year.
They've reportedly already offered a first-round pick in exchange for Gallinari, but some think Denver may want more.
They could combine a pick with the expiring contract of either Rasual Butler or Craig Smith. That may be enough to get the deal done.
If they really want to entice the Nuggets, they can offer to take on the contract of Al Harrington (another player Denver wants to ship out as part of their rebuilding).
Los Angeles could give Denver three expiring contracts (Butler, Smith and Brian Cook) and a first-round pick in exchange for Gallinari and Al Harrington.
Harrington isn't a great pickup for the Clips, but he's not horrible either. He could be a solid asset off the bench, as he could offer relief to the starters at three positions (small forward, power forward and even center).
The addition of Gallinari to this team would be huge. It would give them another young player with a lot of potential to grow up with Blake Griffin, Eric Gordon and DeAndre Jordan.
Gallo and Gordon would stretch the floor with their shooting and create space for Blake Griffin to operate inside. Plus, DeAndre Jordan has the potential to develop into a great defensive player and could be the team's leader on that end of the floor.
Then you have Baron Davis their as the mentor (he'll be motivated by all the youth around him).
With all that in place, the Lakers could have reason to worry about their Tinsel Town dominance.
Staying With the Denver Nuggets
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The Nuggets are talking about moving Gallo already. To me, that would be a mistake. Here's why I think he could be a star in Denver.
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