OKC Thunder: Best sign and trade options for free agent Danilo Gallinari
The Young clubs:
In terms of the teams who could be interested or would be appealing to the Italian a few stand out. The Dallas Mavericks and Atlanta Hawks were the two clubs who’ve actively been trying to pursue him in advance of the moratorium starting.
Mavericks:
The Mavericks were the team initially rumored that the Thunder was going to use to facilitate trading up to draft Aleksej Pokusevski. Then the deal with the Wolves happened which worked out better for the Thunder as it got Ricky Rubio off the books and also brought back James Johnson whom the team can keep or look to move in a separate trade.
With Kristaps Porzingis’ late-season knee injury and Dwight Powell recovering from his Achilles tendon injury the Mavericks sure could use more depth upfront. More importantly having a floor spacer like Gallo who can rebound, score inside and out, help with playmaking, with the ability to score in the clutch would be invaluable for the Mavericks.
Dallas is one of the teams who’ll be in the mix to land Giannis Antetokounmpo next summer if he elects to not sign with the Bucks. For that reason, they’ll be careful to manage their salary cap.
They also don’t have as many available draft picks owing the 2021 and 2023 first-round picks to the Knicks. And, while that might not make the Mavs as appealing to the Thunder the reality is anything Presti can get via a sign and trade has to be considered a bonus since Gallo can simply sign a deal without involving the Thunder.
Hawks:
The Hawks are another young club with rising talents who are actively interested in nabbing Gallinari to help push Trae Young and John Collins into the playoffs. Mark Stein said they are the leading contenders but is that Gallinari’s agent or the Hawks telling Stein that?
There is a growing belief among rival teams that Atlanta will be in pole position for Danilo Gallinari and Rajon Rondo when free agency begins later this week, league sources say
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) November 18, 2020
As @NYTSports reported on Oct. 28, Rondo is also poised to receive strong interest from the Clippers
I’m not sure when the forward stated he would take less to win a title he envisioned joining the Hawks. Atlanta hasn’t been to the postseason the past three years and won only 20 games last season.
There are lots of young talents on the team and they did bring in Clint Capela but I’m not sure that moves the needle enough for Gallo. And if it does, the contract won’t likely fall into that budget deal he’ll offer a contender.
In fact, the Hawks wouldn’t have to do a sign and trade deal as they are one of the few clubs with available cap space. They would be an attractive sign and trade partner for the Thunder though given the copious draft picks they have in hand. Of all the teams on this list if he picks Atlanta then money and term overruled his title aspirations.
That said, there are a number of upper-echelon clubs in the East who would be appealing both to Gallinari and the Thunder.