Danilo Gallinari's Extension Gives Denver Nuggets an Enormous Trade Asset

Denver Nuggets forward Danilo Gallinari agreed to have his contract extended and restructured this week, according to Yahoo Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski. The new contract adds two years and $34 million to his previous deal and seemingly assures the organization a veteran centerpiece in its bid to improve upon a 30-win season.

Near-term ambitions aside, however, there's a real chance Denver moves the former Knick before long. Though there are no signs a trade is imminent, multiple indications suggest one is legitimately possible.

Denver traded 27-year-old veteran Ty Lawson to the Houston Rockets in order to pave the way for rookie floor general Emmanuel Mudiay. Off-court distractions may have accelerated Lawson's exit, but selecting Mudiay with the No. 7 overall pick in June all but assured the franchise was seeking new backcourt leadership—the first step toward rebuilding a roster that hasn't made the playoffs in two years.

Lawson's departure is only the latest sign that Denver has begun prioritizing long-term growth over short-term results, a thought process that could similarly entail moving on from the Gallinari experiment.

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There were rumors earlier this month suggesting the Nuggets had engaged the Boston Celtics in conversations centered around Gallinari. Here's what the Boston Herald's Steve Bulpett learned:

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The Celtics recently spoke with Denver about a trade for Danilo Gallinari, but those discussions did not get anywhere.

However, multiple sources told the Herald that talks could be revived and that the situation bears watching. On the other hand, there were conflicting comments about the Nuggets' willingness to make Gallinari available. Some said Denver will likely keep the 6-10 shooter, while others insist the club is willing to part with him for the proper price.

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The conflicting accounts won't sort anything out, but there's at least some reason to believe Denver would entertain a trade scenario. Yahoo Sports' Marc J. Spears similarly reported back in June that, "The Nuggets have made injury-plagued but offensively talented forward Danilo Gallinari available for trade, a source told Yahoo Sports."

So there's at least some intel corroborating the notion that Gallinari could be had. Given the choice between an almost-27-year-old with an injury history and some promising assets, one suspects Denver would at least carefully consider the potential returns on such a deal.

Gallinari's deal ostensibly refutes the trade rumors, but closer examination of that extension tells a far different story. Whereas the organization could have extended Gallinari for as many as four seasons, the two sides only agreed upon two additional years. Perhaps Gallinari preferred to take his chances with the salary cap scheduled to escalate dramatically in 2016 and again in 2017. Under his current contractual arrangement, the Italian will become a free agent in 2018.

From Denver's perspective, however, the short-term extension could pave the way for renewed trade talks. Potential suitors will no longer view Gallinari as a mere rental, and nor will they balk at taking on a massive contract. The new deal represents a sweet spot of sorts—just long enough to elicit trade interest and just short enough to preserve flexibility going forward. 

The Nuggets could have traded Gallinari without extending him, but now they're in position to receive more in return. Few teams would offer a first-round pick in exchange for just one year of a player's services. Now that bargaining position has changed, and Gallinari could indeed be worth a halfway-decent asset or two.

Season	Games	Min	Pts	FG%	Reb	PER
'08-09	28	14.7	6.1	.448	2.0	13.4
'09-10	81	33.9	15.1	.423	4.9	14.8
'10-11	62	33.9	15.6	.414	4.9	15.7
'11-12	43	31.4	14.6	.414	4.7	16.5
'12-13	71	32.5	16.2	.418	5.2	16.7
'14-15	59	24.2	12.4	.401	3.7	16.8

He's still a solid player after multiple knee surgeries in 2013 and 2014, all pursuant to an injury that forced him to miss the entire 2013-14 campaign. While Gallinari's minutes were far more limited last season (24.2 per game), he still contributed 12.4 points and 3.7 rebounds per contest. The 6'10" forward attempted more than half of his field goals from beyond the three-point arc, where he converted at a 35.5 percent rate.

Impressively, Gallinari was significantly more efficient and productive in his 24 appearances after the All-Star break, averaging 18.6 points per contest and making 44.3 percent of his field-goal attempts. 

Prior to injuring his knee, Gallinari tallied a career-best 16.2 points per game during the 2012-13 season. He's always demonstrated a keen understanding of the game. When asked what he missed most about Gallinari during that lost season, here's how general manager Tim Connelly put it in 2014, per Nuggets.com's Aaron Lopez:

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Basketball IQ. He was a calming influence and a secondary playmaker. Gallo's above-average in every basketball skill, and he's such a natural in how he approaches the game because he's grown up around it. His father was a great player. He's been playing professionally since a young age. He has a certain calming influence and an overall intelligence that at times was lacking this year.

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Potential trade suitors may adopt a wait-and-see approach, monitoring Gallinari's status as he attempts to recover some rhythm. Last season's 40.1 percent mark from the field was a career low and perhaps a warning sign in the eyes of some teams. Should he improve his efficiency and win a few more minutes this season, any number of teams could come calling before February's trade deadline. A big frame with three-point range remains a premium commodity in this league, even after an uneven season with a struggling team.

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It remains entirely possible that the Nuggets opt to keep Gallinari. They won't give him away for pennies on the dollar, and—frankly—they need the shooting too. One could view this extension as a modest attempt to sustain something of a winning culture in Denver, avoiding the stripped-down pitfalls of a protracted rebuilding process in which losing becomes the norm (think Philadelphia 76ers).

Denver also reached an extension agreement with forward Wilson Chandler, further evidence that the organization is either securing tradable assets or attempting to avoid the very bottom of the Western Conference. It remains to be seen which path Connelly and Co. decide to take, but they have some options now.

They'll also have as many as four first-round picks in next summer's draft, highlighting just how young this roster could be in a year's time. Gallinari could conceivably become something of a veteran mentor, but he'd probably be a better fit with a team that—like him—was in its prime.

There's also real question about whether Gallinari can fulfill his potential while competing with Chandler for minutes at the 3 and vying with Kenneth Faried for minutes at the 4. A consistent (and more prominent) role could do wonders for Gallinari.

New head coach Mike Malone could make that happen. But if he doesn't, and if Denver is serious about maximizing its long-term potential, why not get younger? Why not capitalize upon Gallinari's new deal and see what the market has to say about him? It doesn't have to happen right now, but it's a distinct possibility, perhaps all the more so if Gallinari plays particularly well early into the season.

No one likes the idea of going backward, but it may be instrumental in a much more significant evolution in the coming years. Mudiay was the first step. Getting something in return for Gallinari may be the next.