Official Thread: Danilo Gallinari

[admin]

Danilo Gallinari, PG/SG/SF
17 years old 6'9" 192 lbs.
Edimes Pavia, International

Check out the complete profile at: Full Profile (http://www.draftexpress.com/viewprofile.php?p=535)

[Alexandro]

Danilo Gallinari, PG/SG/SF
17 years old 6'9" 192 lbs.
Edimes Pavia, International

Probably he is the best '88 player of Europe :rolleyes:

[SIDESHOW BOB]

Danilo is surely better than Bargnani at seventeen... I see him to improve game by game...In a not so far future a lot of persons wait for a sort of transformation from G/SF to a point guard... I'm not so sure that this fact can be positive for him, or better in some situations He surely plays as PG as Bodiroga does sometimes, but I think he can be more effective playing as big guard so that he has cm, shoot and a quite good ball-handling... If I had to find a defect at this moment I underline the fact that he sometimes thinks on offense there's only the 3point shoot, and defensively now he's able only to be coupled with forward (not so quick), this is due also to the fact that until the last year he often plays PF in minors... For me the best prospect here in Italy behind Bargnani...

[siddharta22]

Danilo is the best italian player all time.
He can be all star player.
He is born to play basket, it knows the game better than many already present players in nba, he is much fast one of feet for its height. Have very good shot and can make very good improvment in the next years..

[coachjon]

i think gallinari will be a late lottery to late first round pick in 2008. he has the potential to become a good second star on a team.

he is athletic, can play point wing, skilled offensively, slasher, can create his own shot, good shooter out to 3, good midrange game (pullup jumper), good ballhandler, knows how to draw fouls, plays hard, lots of potential (should get even taller), needs to get stronger, needs to improve his shot selection (shots the 3 too much), poor defender (struggles against quick players, is a good off ball defender where he gets steals), not very quick, needs to improve his basketball IQ, needs to become more consistent.

[kuchini1]

Big doubt if he can create hi's own shot against so tough and athletic opponents in the NBA.
He is a decent athlete,but his main weakness is his poor first step and quickness,which realy will make his potential limited in both ends of the floor.

He is not that pood defender as he considered too,at least at the European scene he is a solid defender with remarkable stealing ability.

BTW,last week in semi-finals of the Italian Cup against Vidivici,he noted his best performance this season(probably best in his career too)with 27 points.
What a tremendous prospect..

[CV3bandwagon]

^Mauresmo Gherardini was scouting at the Italien Cup last week, as well I'm sure many others were as well. Mauresmo is the man behind all the Raptors signings from Europe, and makes all the calls on the international front for the Raptors. He sure picked a good time to have his best game. In what year do most expect him to declare?

[coachjon]

i think he will next year if his draft stock stays where it is right now. i mean if you can go in the first round why wait to declare and by all accounts if he entered next year as of right now he would be a lock to go somewhere in the first.

[CV3bandwagon]

Do you belive if he entered the draft next year that he'd go to the NBA the same year. If he did would he be ready to contribute right away at least in some sort of role off the bench for say 20-25 quality minutes or would he need more time and be more of a project.

[coachjon]

i don't know what his contract is like so it depends on that but no he wouldn't be ready to contribute at the nba right away i would give his nba readiness a 5 on a scale of 10. he is only averaging 10pts a game overseas. so he would probably benefit by staying overseas, but if his contract allows him to come over right away he probably will so they can start coaching him and he can adapt to nba slowly through practice probably seeing around 12 minutes a game in his rookie campaign. so in other words he would be at the end of the rotation like a 10th man to start off his career.

[Kukoc]

Hi from Italy!
I've seen Danilo Gallinari playing at least 30 times.
First of all, he's now 6'10'' (or 6'11''...in other words, he's 208 cm) and he's playing for the Armani Jeans Olimpia Milano, an italian and european powerhouse, that this year wants to win the Italian championship and wants to qualificate for next year Euroleague.
Il Gallo is the starting SF and he's probably the most important player of his team.
Until the last two weeks he was not the first offensive option...(he does not even had a call, a play, for him!) but now coach Djordjevic has given credit to him, calling some plays for Gallinari, that's now the second offensive option (the first is the center, Joe Blair, former Arizona player).
In my humble opinion, he's a tremendous prospect.
Maybe Bargnani will be more dominant in the future, but Danilo is yet a better player than Il Mago...and probably ever will be.
Why? Because is simply most complete than him.
On the offensive end, he can do everything is possible on a basketball court.
On the defensive end, he only struggles when facing quick guards, due to his must-to-improve footwork speed...but sometimes he's capable to guard even point guards (ask Travis Best in the italian cup semifinal...).
Generally is a great defender, on and off the ball.
Terrific fighter and "winner", incredible basketball IQ and work ethic, he's really coachable. When the game is on the line...when a game is decided in the final minutes...he steps up. Man, he got onions!
He's now playing also in the PF position, in which is dominant, offensively and defensively. I think the PF position he's the best for him, because now he has the tall and the frame to play in this position and because facing PF he really don't have any problems, especially the little problems he has in the SF position, such as speed and footwork.
We've never seen a 18 years old like this in Italy...maybe only the young Toni Kukoc...even Ginobili wasn't so good at 18.
He's 3 years left on his contract, but he's nba escape until 2008, so there are no problems.
He knows he's better for him to stay here at least until 2008, in order to play one euroleague season, develop his game and be sure he's ready for the nba level.
p.s.: Maurizio Gherardini, not Mauresmo!
Bye!

[kuchini1]

Thanks Kukoc.
Maybe you can tell more about how succesfull he was when he guarded quick player like Best?
He could do that for a long time period(all game long)or just for some minutes?

I think playing the 4 position realy can stop his developement.
I guess its making his life easier and he is more predictable in that position,he can slash and make off-the-dribble plays more comfortably and with regularity.
But its obvious that he is a SF,undoubtly.
If he wants to maximize his potential in the future he needs to play more and more SF and improve his one-on-one and footwork issues.
At the PF these abilities wont improve and he will stay exactly the same player as he is now(which is great already,though).

Anyway,its interesting to know, how did he managed til now with more physical and stronger players when he played PF?
I alredy said this before,I think he is way more athletic as people consider him to be.
I'm in love with this young fellow,In my point of view he can be a European superstar in the Nowitzki or Kukoc caliber if he will just improve a bit his quickness and footwork speed.
I also read that coach Messina(Italian NT coach)is having big plans for him for the upcoming Eurobasket.
Its great!

[Toxicity]

Thanks Kukoc.
Maybe you can tell more about how succesfull he was when he guarded quick player like Best?
He could do that for a long time period(all game long)or just for some minutes?

I think playing the 4 position realy can stop his developement.
I guess its making his life easier and he is more predictable in that position,he can slash and make off-the-dribble plays more comfortably and with regularity.
But its obvious that he is a SF,undoubtly.
If he wants to maximize his potential in the future he needs to play more and more SF and improve his one-on-one and footwork issues.
At the PF these abilities wont improve and he will stay exactly the same player as he is now(which is great already,though).

Anyway,its interesting to know, how did he managed til now with more physical and stronger players when he played PF?
I alredy said this before,I think he is way more athletic as people consider him to be.
I'm in love with this young fellow,In my point of view he can be a European superstar in the Nowitzki or Kukoc caliber if he will just improve a bit his quickness and footwork speed.
I also read that coach Messina (Italian NT coach)is having big plans for him for the upcoming Eurobasket.
Its great!

Unfortunately, Carlo Recalcati is the coach of the Italian National Team... ;)

[jwfish6]

the Italian page of eurobasket.com revealed the preliminary roster for the Italian NT and he was not on there. however, luigi datome was...

[kuchini1]

Of course, its Recalacti,mistake.
jwfish6-
this roster who revealed in Eurobsket is just the roster for one camp who will be very soon.
This roster including only young or not that good players,probably Recalcati wants to check their shape and choose some of them for the real preliminary roster for the upcoming eurobasket.

[Kukoc]

coach recalcati has already declared that bargnani belinelli and gallinari will be at this summer european championships.
p.s.: kuchini, you're probably right, it's better if gallinari plays the 3 right now..and in fact he's playing the pf position only for a few minutes.
he defended against travis best 3 or 4 times in switches caused by pick&rolls...and he defended very well, altough it's clear that he can't guard playmakers on a regular basis, that's for sure!

[Kukoc]

the italian national team is playing some friendly matches in order to get ready for the european championships.
gallinari is playing most of the time as a SF (belinelli is the SG and bargnani is the PF), but for some minutes recalcati plays him at the PF, in small ball-run&gun lineups. that's interesting, but the most important thing is that danilo's playing some minutes at the PG position...offensively and defensively he's showing that he's no problem to play in whatever position (excepts at center).
he's showing also some interesting post skills, mainly when he's guarded by the opposite PG.
I've heard that he's still growing...and his poise, iq, and clutch are just scary.
man...:shock:

[Kukoc]

man...danilo's got injured in the final seconds of the friendly match vs. lietuva....best case scenario: knee's distraction.
worst case scenario: broke his ligaments (obviousky I'm talkin' about his right knee).
I hope he can play at the european championships.
oh...what a pity...
fuc*!
:confused:

[Toxicity]

man...danilo's got injured in the final seconds of the friendly match vs. lietuva....best case scenario: knee's distraction.
worst case scenario: broke his ligaments (obviousky I'm talkin' about his right knee).
I hope he can play at the european championships.
oh...what a pity...
fuc*!
:confused:

Fortunately it isn't a serious injury... he rests 2-3 days and in 10-15 days he'll be ready to play. Just in time for the Euro Championship... :)

[Kukoc]

I've just read Danilo's profile in this site.
Well done...but I think there's something to correct in terms of comparison.
I mean...the best case scenario is quite honest...but the worst case is too far from reality.
Gallinari is already way way better than Christian Drejer.
In other words, I suggest you to modify Danilo's worst case scenario.
Happy new year to everybody.

[coachjon]

what do people think of comparing danilo to detlef schrempf?

[SIDESHOW BOB]

For me he stays between a Schrempf and a Tom Chambers, but surely he's a better ballhandler and shooter than all the two previously mentioned.

[Kukoc]

I don't know...maybe Danilo is a prototypical player...it's very difficult to compare him to another player.
He reminds me something of Grant Hill and something of Toni Kukoc.
"Bodiroga (with more hoops)" is quite the worst case scenario for him.
The kid is just terrific.
Terrific.
Top 5 picks in this years draft, no doubt about it.

[coachjon]

i don't know if he is top 5 for sure but he is top 5 to mid first material.

[Hitster]

I think he's more Kukoc than Grant Hill, if he was as good as Hill when he left Duke then he'd be pushing for a top 3 lock.

[coachjon]

i agree he is more kukoc than hill. hill is more of a slasher than a shooter where gallinari is more of a shooter than a slasher.

[KristianH]

He is more of a Turkoglu than both of them.

[coachjon]

i still think kukoc is better than turkoglu however turkoglu is a better comparison than hill.

[Hitster]

I'm never that keen on Grant Hill comparisons as due to the injuries you are never sure what stage of Grant Hill's career people mean, the young stud at Detroit who blossomed into a Franchise player, the guy who had his Orlando stint wrecked by injuries but still had a great basketball IQ or the guy who is now a great complimentary starter at Phoenix. With Hill having such a good basketball IQ and even having the ability to play some PG and with his great demeanour and being one of the most popular players in the league, any comparisons to him unless top 3 locks always seem to be a case of overrating.

Back to Gallinari, I can see parts of Schrempf's game but with perhaps better ball handing skills so there may be a bit of Grant Hill there but Turkoglu and Kukoc are still better comparisons.

Who do people prefer out of Gallinari and Budinger, I rate them fairly evenly, Chase is more athletic but Gallinari has a better basketball IQ. Teams have seen more of Chase but Gallinari may have mystery value (i.e. intangibles, upside) that GM's are scared to miss out on.

[coachjon]

they are very close for me and i could see either getting drafted over the other one but i slighlty perfer budinger because i think he can adjust to the level of the NBA easier with his added athleticsm, but there is not doubt gallinari is the better all around player. budinger is more athletic, quicker, can shoot it slightly better, and has more potential i think because of his athleticism. gallinari has better NBA size, is a better ballhandler, better passer, has a better basketball IQ.

[Hitster]

I think it may just come down to who is drafting where as both of these guys have a lot to offer and both could play for smallball teams with ease for example. With Chase you get an SG who can play SF with Gallinari you get an SF with above average skills. The workouts could have a lot to do with it, Chase has the potential to put up some great stats as regards vertical leaps etc but Gallinari if he impresses in tryouts could shoot up the draft due to teams not wanting to miss out on a guy with lots of upside and also he will not have been scouted as much as Chase.

[Toxicity]

Is it time for a complete scouting report on Danilo? I think yes...

[wombat6802]

He will be scouted just as much as Chase, if not more. People tend to forget that Gallinari is playing professional basketball against the best competition in Europe, and definitely comparative competition to what is offered in American professional basketball. So, to see he's not being scouted as often as Budinger is just not true. Even on this site, there has been more ink about Gallinari in terms of individual analysis than Budinger...

[Hitster]

I can see how drafting sites would scout guys wherever they play and Euroleague games are shown worldwide so people can watch and analyse players by tape in depth if required. I'd be interested to know how an NBA teams scouting works, teams send players to D-Leagues etc and most front offices may well have guys who scout informally for them or College guys whose opinion they would seek regarding certain players. Say a guy like Coach K, surely GM's or NBA Coaches would seek his view of college players on his roster or who his guys played against. A team like say the T-Wolves would no doubt be watching Jordan, Rose, Beasley, Mayo etc to get the inside track on them but until they know who is going to declare theyhave to spread resources. You could just imagine an Isiah getting someone to watch a guy week in week out and then that guy deciding to stay in college for another year. I'd be interested to know how say a guys like say Burford and Pritchard organize their scouting as Pritchard suddenly ended up with picks via trades and a team picking in the 25 to 30 region like the Spurs invaribly do would be very hard to gage now who could be 27th pick say on draft night so could end up watching guys from current late lottery down to current mid 2nd round.

[coachjon]

i know the chicago bulls sent scout dave bullwinkle over 20 times to see Adam Morrison play and research everything about him down to how diabetes would hinder/not hinder his NBA life span. so nba scouts are very extensive and do so much research on players they are thinking about drafting it is not even funny.

[Hitster]

I would have expected the Bulls to have watched Ammo as he was a top 3 pick and was in their draft range thanks to Isiah. The fun must be when teams have scouted guys to death and then the pick gets traded, Boston's scouts would no dout have watched Horford, Green, Yi, Brewer, Conley etc before they traded to get Ray Allen. Seattle would have drawn on their scouting reports of Jeff Green to have considered the Ray Allen trade. Likewise Coach Nelson and GSW's Front Office must have watched Brandan Wright extensively to agree to the J-Rich trade even though he was well out of their draft range.

I wonder if a team like the Spurs would bother watching any top 10 locks like say Jordan, Gordon etc. I couls see them watching say Chase who may project in 8-12 range and certainly a guy like say Love who projects say 10-20 range.

[Genjuro]

I would have expected the Bulls to have watched Ammo as he was a top 3 pick and was in their draft range thanks to Isiah. The fun must be when teams have scouted guys to death and then the pick gets traded, Boston's scouts would no dout have watched Horford, Green, Yi, Brewer, Conley etc before they traded to get Ray Allen. Seattle would have drawn on their scouting reports of Jeff Green to have considered the Ray Allen trade. Likewise Coach Nelson and GSW's Front Office must have watched Brandan Wright extensively to agree to the J-Rich trade even though he was well out of their draft range.

I wonder if a team like the Spurs would bother watching any top 10 locks like say Jordan, Gordon etc. I couls see them watching say Chase who may project in 8-12 range and certainly a guy like say Love who projects say 10-20 range.
I'm sure every team pretty much heavily scouts every single NBA prospect. You have to. The draft is not set in stone: there might be trades and guys falling, while anything can happen projecting so many months in advance (someone who appears to be a lock for the top-10 right now might end up looking like a late lottery in June). You have to be ready for anything.

[Hitster]

Very valid points as always Genjuro, having viewed the scouting and team selection process from different sports backgrounds before I got into the NBA and drafting process. I was interested to see how teams spread their scouting resources, NBA teams are multi million dollar business empires and would have vast scouting resources but to watch say the 80 to 100 guys who perhaps have a shot at being drafted each year in person would be a huge operation and require a lot of logisitical planning before you consider the miles the scouts would need to cover.

As this is a Gallinari thread, I could well imagine after March Madness, a lot of NBA Front Office personnel will be popping over to Europe to see the comclusion of the European Domestic season to keep an eye on anyone with draft potential or the free agent market.

[Kukoc]

I'm sure every team pretty much heavily scouts every single NBA prospect. You have to. The draft is not set in stone: there might be trades and guys falling, while anything can happen projecting so many months in advance (someone who appears to be a lock for the top-10 right now might end up looking like a late lottery in June). You have to be ready for anything.

I agree.
They must scout every single prospect...and they do so, having tons of scouts who can easily scout a hundred of prospects in 12 months.
You never know what's going to happen (and...first of all...nba teams pay hundreds of scout not to sit in a chair and make crosswords).
If they don't, maybe they should throw a dice or play "odd or even?" to decide which guy's better to choose. This would be more professional, I guess.
By the way...have you noticed gallinari's last game?
29 points, 9 fouls drawn, 33 index rating.

[andrejjan]

As of today since 2000/01 it is a huge advantage to be scouted outside the states. Scouting is an unbelievable negative craft, you are dissecting every aspect, skill, character, intangibles, body with the mindset to show the lacking parts. Every nba team employs up to 5 fulltime college scouts,several regional scouts, gms, assistant gms, player personell types. During the college season these guys watch 4-5 games in person and 20-30 games on television or dvd weekly. Before the draft most teams have law and pi firms in information seeking engaged. And every franchise is heavily involved in neuropsychological testing.
Darko, Skeeta or Bargnani never endured a lengthy psychological testing, joe d never saw darko live in a game situation, skeeta never played and bargnani was always the hypersoft jump shooter with no heart whatsoever. If they lived statesside even isiah and jerry krause would have passed on them.
As for gallinari, he is crafty, high basket IQ, a guy who will reach his ceiling- but his ceiling is limited, i am definitely not seeing nba starting material whatsoever. As for his statistics in the lega-lega is at the worst since the start of the modern, professional era 35 years ago- as for the euroleague-nobody writes about the diluted quality this year, about half of the teams are plain terrible, sometimes laughable.

[Hitster]

European players are naturally harder to scout in person and so their weaknesses can be less apparent. If Dumars had never seen Darko play live then the risk was too huge to take especially for a top 3 draft pick. You can take a flyer on a European Prospect in the 2nd round but first round picks need to be very well researched. That said every draft site had Bargnani near the top throughout 2005/06 and so he'd have been well researched. If a European is an unknown quantity then teams often take a run t them because they are worried to miss out on the percieved "upside" a young guy might have.

[Kukoc]

As of today since 2000/01 it is a huge advantage to be scouted outside the states. Scouting is an unbelievable negative craft, you are dissecting every aspect, skill, character, intangibles, body with the mindset to show the lacking parts. Every nba team employs up to 5 fulltime college scouts,several regional scouts, gms, assistant gms, player personell types. During the college season these guys watch 4-5 games in person and 20-30 games on television or dvd weekly. Before the draft most teams have law and pi firms in information seeking engaged. And every franchise is heavily involved in neuropsychological testing.
Darko, Skeeta or Bargnani never endured a lengthy psychological testing, joe d never saw darko live in a game situation, skeeta never played and bargnani was always the hypersoft jump shooter with no heart whatsoever. If they lived statesside even isiah and jerry krause would have passed on them.
As for gallinari, he is crafty, high basket IQ, a guy who will reach his ceiling- but his ceiling is limited, i am definitely not seeing nba starting material whatsoever. As for his statistics in the lega-lega is at the worst since the start of the modern, professional era 35 years ago- as for the euroleague-nobody writes about the diluted quality this year, about half of the teams are plain terrible, sometimes laughable.

Bargnani has been scouted tons of times by nba scouts (every game 2 or 3 scouts attended andrea's performance) and colangelo admitted that the results of bargnani's pshyco tests were off the charts (so he has made at least one pshyco test).
Same thing for Gallinari: every Armani Jeans game there are at least 2-3 scouts attending gallinari's game.
At the end of the day...european prospects are scouted as (if not more) than ncaa prospects.
By the way...although legabasket and euroleague are a little less stronger than some years ago, they're still way better than the ncaa.
P.s.: if you don't see in Gallinari even an nba starter I suggest you to take another look at him.
P.p.s.: milicic, tskitishvili...you all cited bad euro picks...but I can cite jonathan bender, kwame brown, sebastian telfair and so on...or I can cite great euro picks in the late first round-second round such as tony parker or emanuel ginobili...or, on the other hand, gilbert arenas...so, what's the point? In the nba draft we have some good and some bad picks...whatever they come from...and all the prospects have quite the same amount of scouting reports, tests, and so on...whatever they come from. the nba is a global league now...and teams take care of the international scouting, that's for sure.

[Genjuro]

(and...first of all...nba teams pay hundreds of scout not to sit in a chair and make crosswords).
Well, that's debatable....

[Toxicity]

As for gallinari, he is crafty, high basket IQ, a guy who will reach his ceiling- but his ceiling is limited, i am definitely not seeing nba starting material whatsoever.

And why his ceiling would be limited? Because he's not a freakish athlete? Well, it's true but he's close to a 6-10 frame so his (underrated) athleticism could be not so important... also considering we're talking about BASKETBALL and not ATHLETICS... i'd say he'll be a starter at least.


As for his statistics in the lega-lega is at the worst since the start of the modern, professional era 35 years ago- as for the euroleague-nobody writes about the diluted quality this year, about half of the teams are plain terrible, sometimes laughable.

All debatable. NBA itself is not more the same NBA of some years ago...

[Hitster]

I'd say the NBA is getting stronger if anything with the draft strength of 2007 and potentially both 2008 and 2009 along with the Franchise guys who've been drafted from say 2003 onwards.

Gallinari's game is perhaps based more on his basketball IQ than insane athleicism so this balances out and in my mind a guy who doesn't have to rely on his speed and slashing abilities can maybe have a longer career as with a good basketball IQ he can develop a finese game and bring his teammates into play as a facilitator.

[Kukoc]

very good post by luis fernandez on this site.
I totally agree with him:

"Danilo Gallinari delivered Player-of-the-Week caliber performances both in the Euroleague and Italian League. In the domestic competition, he had 29 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 blocks, although his team clearly lost against Siviglia Wear Teramo. He’s averaging 20.5 points during the last 8 games in the Lega, and has become the first offensive option of his team. His ability to beat his opponent off the dribble thanks to his ball-handling skills, first step, footwork and use of his body, provides plenty of layups for him, consistent game creation for his teammates, and regular trips to the charity stripe. As limited as his quickness sometimes look, nobody really can completely shut him down. So he’s simply the most reliable option for his team. In the Euroleague, he led Armani Jeans Milano to a victory over Aris scoring 20 points, with 5 rebounds and 3 assists. Indeed, with the game on the line, he connected on three clutch three pointers that proved once again his winning character. On the negative side, his defense is looking extremely underwhelming compared to what he had shown last season; our guess is that he’s saving his efforts for the offensive end".

by the way...tonight gallinari scored 27 points (with 8 fouls drawn, 4 rebounds, 3 steals and 11/13 from the free throw line) in the euroleague match vs maccabi tel aviv.

[Kukoc]

as for his athleticism: maybe he's not a freakish athlete...but I think he's a little bit (or too much...depends..) underrated.
look at that, for example:
http://it.youtube.com/watch?v=-0v8hdmUFHI

[mullet is gone]

Havent seen anything of this guy. Will he really go that high in the draft now that Bargnani has regressed, the Fran Vasquez farce etc. etc.

[Kukoc]

Havent seen anything of this guy. Will he really go that high in the draft now that Bargnani has regressed, the Fran Vasquez farce etc. etc.

I mean...every man is an island...so every euro prospect is a different case.
You can't rely too much on that past examples, in my opinion.
If you haven't seen anything of this guy you probably haven't had the opportunity to notice that gallinari is another type of prospect than vazquez.
He's just at another level than him.
For technical and mental reasons I'm pretty sure he's got less "risky factor" than other past euro picks (milicic and vazquez, for example).
He's definitely more a turkoglu-schrempf-kukoc-ginobili-parker and so on..than a milicic-vazquez.
Said that...who knows...maybe Gallinari will be an all-around all star caliber player (brandon roy is a recent prospect who's in the verge to have this kind of consideration/value)...maybe will be an all-around role player...maybe a bust (in this case...it will all depends on when and were he will be drafted...how he will be used...the amount of playing time they will give him...and so on...because he's not a raw prospect and/or an empty/inhabitated head or an emotional/sensible guy or so on...he already has the skills and "the head" of a great player...it's on them to make life/things easy for him and give him the opportunity to show his talent).

[mullet is gone]

Oh I know he's his own player. Its just that GMs will be that much more wary given whats happened recently. I cant understand Bargnani at all, he was doing so well last year. He stinks right now.

[Hitster]

Bargnani seems to have gone backwards, of course starting at C is different to coming from the bench and if Garbojsa had been fit you wonder how many minutes he'd have seen. Still he had a nice game aginst Boston the other day.

[Toxicity]

Head wise Gallinari is on another level than Bargnani. That's why he will never be a bust. He may end up being just a starter and not an all-star, but anything less is very unlikely imho... Danilo, 3 years younger, is already better than Andrea and it's not even close. But i trust in Bargnani in the mid-term: he'll be fine...

[Kukoc]

This week's roundup (by Luis Fernandez) maybe can help some people understand how special Gallinari is.
Anyway...I've took another look at Gallinari's profile on this site...and I agree with almost everything, excepts for something about his weaknesses.

"Weaknesses:
• Quickness
• Explosiveness
• Ability to defend NBA small forwards?
• Consistent 3-point shooting
• Post-up moves
• Rebounding"

Consistent 3-pt shooting, post-up moves and rebounding are not problems for Gallinari, that's for sure.
In the end...I agree that he has 3 potential weaknesses in a nba prospective:
- quickness
- explosiveness
- ability to defend nba small forwards

If these 3 are the only potential weaknesses that he might have...compared to what he has "on the table", what he brings...man, I think that would be a nice, nice, nice thing.
What a "scary" prospect...every time a look one of his games I'm more convinced that he's a lock top 5 pick caliber.

[Genjuro]

I don't have any concern about Gallinari's three-point stroke, post-up moves and even ability to defend small forwards. The guy proved to be a very capable defender last season, and he will step up in this department if necesary.

[Hitster]

He seems to be certainly dominating in Europe which is helping his draft stock to rise, I currently have him as a top 8 lock given his continually improving performances. Until we know what a guy like say DeAndre Jordan is going to do, it's hard to judge Gallinari's draft upside. Lets say some of the young bigs don't declare then Gallinari could maybe move as high as 3rd in the final draft. If he keeps on like this, a top 5 lock may well be justified especially if he has good workouts come May/June. It's too early to consider who might draft him but with his skillset he could fit into most styles of play.

[coachjon]

i have him as a lottery lock right now with the possibility of going in the top 5.

[Hitster]

With drafts, I try to narrow down where a guy can go, with top picks it is easier, most people have Beasley and Rose as top 3 locks but after that you have to consider who declares, draft prospects ongoing form,initial draft positions of teams, draft lottery, team needs, team politics,workouts and draft day trades. That's just 8 factors off the top of my head.

Team politics I class as top players putting their views across like Paul Pierce pushed hard for the Boston pick last year to be traded and say D-Wade may push for a PG to be drafted by Miami rather than say a SF etc.

[Genjuro]

Until we know what a guy like say DeAndre Jordan is going to do, it's hard to judge Gallinari's draft upside.
I understand what are you saying, and I actually agree, but it's funny how having watched DeAndre Jordan this summer at the U-19 WC, to mention him in the same sentence as Gallinari results almost insulting. Which kind of reflects:
a) The NBA is very physical/athletic oriented.
b) Potential (in very raw players) is often overrated.

Outside the NBA, nobody would doubt even for a second about who to pick. Not in the NBA.

[Jonathan]

This week's roundup (by Luis Fernandez) maybe can help some people understand how special Gallinari is.
Anyway...I've took another look at Gallinari's profile on this site...and I agree with almost everything, excepts for something about his weaknesses.

"Weaknesses:
• Quickness
• Explosiveness
• Ability to defend NBA small forwards?
• Consistent 3-point shooting
• Post-up moves
• Rebounding"

Consistent 3-pt shooting, post-up moves and rebounding are not problems for Gallinari, that's for sure.
In the end...I agree that he has 3 potential weaknesses in a nba prospective:
- quickness
- explosiveness
- ability to defend nba small forwards

If these 3 are the only potential weaknesses that he might have...compared to what he has "on the table", what he brings...man, I think that would be a nice, nice, nice thing.
What a "scary" prospect...every time a look one of his games I'm more convinced that he's a lock top 5 pick caliber.

On the season, Gallinari is 41/113 from behind the 3-point line, or 36%. Last year, he was 35/117, or 29.9%. In Lega Due with Pavia two years ago he was 34/73, or 46.6%, likely taking easier shots than he is now. That is from the International 3-point line.

I think Gallinari has terrific potential as a shooter, and will adapt to the NBA 3-point line, but he's certainly not a lethal threat from behind the arc at this point, and definitely isn't consistent with his stroke from game to game. He'll go 0-6 or 0-7 in one game for example, and then 4/5 in the next.

Just something he needs to work on.

As a rebounder, I can't see how you can look at his production and not come away underwhelmed.

Take a look at this list (Euroleague rebounding per 40 minutes pace-adjusted): http://www.draftexpress.com/stats.php?sort=18&q=&league=EURO&year=2007%2F08&per=per40pace&min=20&pos=all&qual=all

And see where Danilo shows up. Behind Zalgiris' point guard?

Look how his 5.4 rebounds per 40 minutes pace adjusted compares with some NCAA small forward prospects in our database: http://www.draftexpress.com/stats.php?sort=18&q=&league=NCAA&year=2007%2F08&per=per40pace&min=20&stage=all&pos=SF&qual=all

That's not a perfect comparison of course because of the difference in level of competition (some of these guys are more PF's and show up in that category too), but when you're talking about such an underwhelming number, it brings home the point I think.

Regarding post moves, that's a matter of opinion I suppose. I think that at his size he should be much more effective at going down to the low post and getting production for himself. In the games I've seen (4 in person, countless more on tape), that doesn't happen enough. He looks a little soft down there, fading away from contact.

He can improve this part of his game...agreed?

You'll see by the long line of strengths outlined in his profile (longer than anyone else's actually) that I clearly think he's a phenomenal prospect. But that doesn't mean I can't point out flaws that he needs to work on.

[Hitster]

In response to Genjuro, I used DeAndre Jordan as an example as he is potentially the highest drafted player who there is no consensus on whether he declares. I totally agree that skillsetwise, basketball IQ etc that Gallinari is way ahead of Jordan but on the flipside Jordan is a 7 foot insanely athletic frontcourter who is perhaps not that far behind a guy like Dwight Howard was when he entered the draft and an elite big man is rarer than an elite SF whether the SF is a better player. If you did a count of Franchise Level Centres in the NBA, you'd have a lot less than Franchise level SF's look at the excitement Greg Oden created last year, he's a fantastic prospect but being a Centre gave him even more draft level.

To sepearate Gallinari and Jordan draftwise would be hard but it could be down to drafting team's needs etc.

[Kukoc]

jonathan...first of all, congratulation for the hard (and good) work.
I thought that for "weaknesses" you meant parts of the game in which a prospect struggles...that was a misunderstanding, I suppose.
He doesn't struggle on rebounding (a la bargnani, for example)...but he can/must improve, indeed...same for the "back to the basket" game...and so on.
now that I've understood exactly what you mean I completely agree with you.

[Genjuro]

In response to Genjuro, I used DeAndre Jordan as an example as he is potentially the highest drafted player who there is no consensus on whether he declares. I totally agree that skillsetwise, basketball IQ etc that Gallinari is way ahead of Jordan but on the flipside Jordan is a 7 foot insanely athletic frontcourter who is perhaps not that far behind a guy like Dwight Howard was when he entered the draft and an elite big man is rarer than an elite SF whether the SF is a better player. If you did a count of Franchise Level Centres in the NBA, you'd have a lot less than Franchise level SF's look at the excitement Greg Oden created last year, he's a fantastic prospect but being a Centre gave him even more draft level.

To sepearate Gallinari and Jordan draftwise would be hard but it could be down to drafting team's needs etc.
Sure, I agree again. It was just a thought, taking advantage of your comment, about some particularities of the NBA.

[Toxicity]

On the season, Gallinari is 41/113 from behind the 3-point line, or 36%. Last year, he was 35/117, or 29.9%. In Lega Due with Pavia two years ago he was 34/73, or 46.6%, likely taking easier shots than he is now. That is from the International 3-point line.

I think Gallinari has terrific potential as a shooter, and will adapt to the NBA 3-point line, but he's certainly not a lethal threat from behind the arc at this point, and definitely isn't consistent with his stroke from game to game. He'll go 0-6 or 0-7 in one game for example, and then 4/5 in the next.

Just something he needs to work on.

As a rebounder, I can't see how you can look at his production and not come away underwhelmed.

Take a look at this list (Euroleague rebounding per 40 minutes pace-adjusted): http://www.draftexpress.com/stats.php?sort=18&q=&league=EURO&year=2007%2F08&per=per40pace&min=20&pos=all&qual=all

And see where Danilo shows up. Behind Zalgiris' point guard?

Look how his 5.4 rebounds per 40 minutes pace adjusted compares with some NCAA small forward prospects in our database: http://www.draftexpress.com/stats.php?sort=18&q=&league=NCAA&year=2007%2F08&per=per40pace&min=20&stage=all&pos=SF&qual=all

That's not a perfect comparison of course because of the difference in level of competition (some of these guys are more PF's and show up in that category too), but when you're talking about such an underwhelming number, it brings home the point I think.

He's still ahead of Batum in rebs per minute... but Nicolas doesn't seem to have the rebs weakness in his profile... ;)

[KristianH]

He's still ahead of Batum in rebs per minute... but Nicolas doesn't seem to have the rebs weakness in his profile... ;)

Batum projects as a swingmen (SG/SF), while Gallinari is probably combo forward (SF/PF) at the NBA level, so rebounding is far more important for him.

[Jonathan]

Batum is soft, no one has ever denied that. It didn't stand out to me that he was that poor of a rebounder when I watched him, though. Thanks for pointing that out. He does do a better job in the French league, though. He's averaging 4.17 boards in the 29 total games he's played. That's not great, but like Kristian says, that's less of a concern at his position than it is for Danilo.

But it is a valid point.

[Toxicity]

Nice article by Sports Illustrated:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/writers/ian_thomsen/01/31/gallinari/index.html

A 1st pick overall?? It may be too much but Danilo has rare skills...

[Kukoc]

in which "nba lottery" franchise do you think gallinari should fit better?
what team has more need of him?

[coachjon]

i think out of the lottery bound teams that will be in the range gallinari will go this year these teams could take a look at gallinari: knicks because they have yet to find an answer at SF, sixers if they think they won't be able to reup igoudala, bucks because they are still searching for a SF.

[Hitster]

Any team that would consider Beasley in the top 10 and who don't get a top 3 lottery pick may consider Gallinari. I'd agree that Philly is a nice option, maybe Miami if they miss out on Rose or Beasley, Memphis could fit him in easily. Teams creeping up the draft like the Atlanta pick to Phoenix would come into play if that goes top 10, also teams looking at guys like Donte Green will also consider Gallinari.

[Spacearrow99]

Gallinari will have to have great workouts and practices; inorder, to go in the top 10. Danilo kid is not a good shooter and he is an average athlete. GM's draft for upside now; if Gallinari was a great shooter he would have a chance to go in the top 10. Orlando drafted Howard over Okafor, which was a great decision.

SF how will go ahead of Gallinari because thieir upsides are much higher.

Donte Greene
Chase Budinger
Nicolas Batum

Please stop!! Gallinari is a good player, but you people are going way overboard. I would pick Deandre Jordan over Gallinari because of his upside. Jordan could be another Dwight Howard in a few years.

Beasley will go 1
If Miami doen't get Rose they will pick Gordon, Mayo, or Bayless.
Memphis will go with Budinger, Donte Greene, Deandre Jordan, or Darrel Arthur
Yi could play the SF position.

Most of the players I mentioned could hlp a team right away.

That European scout who said, Dario should be the 1 pick would get eaten alive by the American Sports media.

[Kukoc]

italian playoffs 1st round is over.
danilo gallinari has averaged 21.0 pts, 7.0 rebounds, 2.2 steals per game, shooting 66.7% from 2, 40.0% from 3, 87.1% from the free throw line.
he's the true leader of his team and he's proved it another time tonight, in the do or die game 5 vs montegranaro (in italy we have "best of five" series):
27 points, 10 rebounds, 4/8 from 3pts...he's dominated the court and his team has won the game (and obviously the series).
it seems incredible (looking at the extraordinary season he's had), but he stepped up in the playoffs.
man...what a player...whoever picks him in the upcoming draft, he will take a true diamond.

[ecuhus]

You seem like the perfect poster to ask this question: do you think a career as good as your screennamesake, Toni Kukoc, would be a reasonable estimate of Danilo's future? Turkoglu?? Bird???

All were/are what I like to call "breakdown" SFs, in that they could break down a defense with their skill set. Each also had very advanced court vision for a frontcourt player; those are the two things that stick out the most to me about Gallinari.

[Yezsyr]

You seem like the perfect poster to ask this question: do you think a career as good as your screennamesake, Toni Kukoc, would be a reasonable estimate of Danilo's future? Turkoglu?? Bird???

All were/are what I like to call "breakdown" SFs, in that they could break down a defense with their skill set. Each also had very advanced court vision for a frontcourt player; those are the two things that stick out the most to me about Gallinari.

I can't believe I am going to say this but I believe that Galinari can be Larry Bird-esque, absolute best case scenario. I think Turkoglu this year is a good comparison for his career mid-level, because the more I see of this kid, the more I like.

I guess this is a combination of your observations, but he always seems to know what to do on offense. His awareness is off the charts, and has some serious ball control. Could be one of the best ball handlers in the draft, regardless of position. He's a natural shot maker, with his great handles and soft touch. Can finish with either hand, and while his athleticism is average at best at the NBA level, you can not teach his feel for getting shots off. It seems, that like Bird he's got such an array of skills, and such an understanding of how to use his skills to their maximum, that he doesnt need freakish athleticism. Does he have that killer instinct like Bird though? Remains to be seen, but he's a player, period.

[Hitster]

Gallinari looks as if he has a great skillset but Bird would be best case senario completely, Turkoglu is a nice comparison as his career has developed nicely in recent years. How about Grant Hill as a comparision for a ball handling SF for Gallinari?

[coachjon]

i dont like the hill comparison because hill is a great slasher that can't shoot from the outside and gallinari is a great shooter that will be an average slasher in the nba i believe.

[Kukoc]

I don't know...it's tough to compare him...to find a very similar comparison.
maybe gallinari is a prototypical player.
for what concerns his slashing abilities:
I think that danilo will slash easier in the nba than in europe.
here contacts are more tolerated.
nonetheless he draws a tons of fouls, thanks to his fantastic body control, skillset, array of fakes-exitations-dribble moves, and iq.
with nba referees (and their style of referage) he'll draw a lot more fouls...he'll be often to the charity line, shooting ft's...and if you don't body-check him (although he's very capable to finish with contact), in order to not commit a foul...oh, he'll surely kill you in some way.
maybe (although danilo's at least decently gifted, athletically...maybe he's not explosive, but he can jump and run very well) he's not a high jump or decathlon finalist or similar, like darius miles...but who cares?
he can finish a penetration...here and in the nba.
maybe he will take some time to adjust his slashing style to the nba game...but like other great fiba slashers (parker...ginobili...), he can do it.
no doubt about it.
in europe, with the 3pt line at 6,25 m and without the defensive 3 seconds, we have the paint ever (and ever...and ever...) "congestionated".
so...I think that penetrations (and, mainly, finish a penetration) are harder in fiba than in the nba.
it's simply hard (and hard...and hard) to play in the paint in a fiba game (tell to duncan what he thinks about fiba game...after the olimpic games in 2004 he simply said that "fiba sucks"...eheh...and, for example, a player like scola he's more confortable in the nba than in the euroleague, speaking of offense). the nba game has better "spacing" than fiba game...the paint is more "cleared"...contacts are less tolerated...so I think that a player like danilo (with his skillset and iq), will have less difficult to slash in the nba than here in europe.
Hey, I'm not saying that playing in a fiba game is harder than playing in a nba game (and...by the way...personally I prefer nba basketball)...I'm just saying that for some reasons, slashing in a fiba game, should be harder than making it in a nba game.
said that...he can slash, he can shoot, he can pass, he can post up...he can kill his opponent in multiple ways...and he knows how to kill you (if he's guarded by smaller players he post them up...if he's guarded by a slower player he slash...and so on...in a few moments he automatically takes the right decision).
pick your poison.

[Nowak]

Is there any way to watch Gallinari's next game on the internet?

[Nowak]

or watch his last game?

[Yezsyr]

I don't know...it's tough to compare him...to find a very similar comparison.
maybe gallinari is a prototypical player.
for what concerns his slashing abilities:
I think that danilo will slash easier in the nba than in europe.
here contacts are more tolerated.
nonetheless he draws a tons of fouls, thanks to his fantastic body control, skillset, array of fakes-exitations-dribble moves, and iq.
with nba referees (and their style of referage) he'll draw a lot more fouls...he'll be often to the charity line, shooting ft's...and if you don't body-check him (although he's very capable to finish with contact), in order to not commit a foul...oh, he'll surely kill you in some way.
maybe (although danilo's at least decently gifted, athletically...maybe he's not explosive, but he can jump and run very well) he's not a high jump or decathlon finalist or similar, like darius miles...but who cares?
he can finish a penetration...here and in the nba.
maybe he will take some time to adjust his slashing style to the nba game...but like other great fiba slashers (parker...ginobili...), he can do it.
no doubt about it.
in europe, with the 3pt line at 6,25 m and without the defensive 3 seconds, we have the paint ever (and ever...and ever...) "congestionated".
so...I think that penetrations (and, mainly, finish a penetration) are harder in fiba than in the nba.
it's simply hard (and hard...and hard) to play in the paint in a fiba game (tell to duncan what he thinks about fiba game...after the olimpic games in 2004 he simply said that "fiba sucks"...eheh...and, for example, a player like scola he's more confortable in the nba than in the euroleague, speaking of offense). the nba game has better "spacing" than fiba game...the paint is more "cleared"...contacts are less tolerated...so I think that a player like danilo (with his skillset and iq), will have less difficult to slash in the nba than here in europe.
Hey, I'm not saying that playing in a fiba game is harder than playing in a nba game (and...by the way...personally I prefer nba basketball)...I'm just saying that for some reasons, slashing in a fiba game, should be harder than making it in a nba game.
said that...he can slash, he can shoot, he can pass, he can post up...he can kill his opponent in multiple ways...and he knows how to kill you (if he's guarded by smaller players he post them up...if he's guarded by a slower player he slash...and so on...in a few moments he automatically takes the right decision).
pick your poison.

Wow, you completely glossed over the fact that there are no LeBron James' and Tayshawn Prince's in FIBA. You claim that Danilo will have a much easier time getting to the basket. I disagree. It will be harder for him to get to the basket because his body strength is still below average for the NBA level, and the type of pressure that the premier perimeter defenders put on him will be on a whole different level. Ron Artest will eat him alive, to begin with.

And contact is "less tolarated" in the NBA, only for the star players. Not for European rooks. Seasoned vets like Prince, Shawn Marion, Gerald Wallace, and Caron Butler are stronger and more athletic now, and while Danilo has a great deal of upside, he will struggle at the beginning because he doesnt have the physicality to slash. Ask Kevin Durant how easy it was to play in the post, and considering they are very similar in size, (KD 6'9" 215, Danilo 6'9" 210) I question how easily his transition will be. He's still young, and his body is still underdeveloped for the rigors of 82+ games in the best league in the world. He has potential, but to claim that he'll have an easier time slashing and using Tony Parker and Ginobili as evidence, despite their completely different body types and styles, wouldnt be a prudent evaluation.

He can become a good slasher at the NBA level, but his strength is going to have to come from a consistant jumper. He's improving it, but given his inability to post in in the league, at least for now, he needs to prove he'll be a consistant shooting threat in the NBA to open up his off the dribble game. He's creative handling and finishing and has the best court vision and IQ of any player not name "Derrick", but Lebron had all those tools plus freakish athleticism. So unlike Lebron he will have to catch up to the speed and athleticism of the league before he'll "slash easier in the NBA than in Europe."

[Fallo!]

or watch his last game?
here you can find some tv videos..
gallinari will be an nba superstar...
believe me.
but he's not so convinced to go.. he'd like to stay in milano in a new top eurolegue team..

http://search.yalp.alice.it/search/search.html?txtToSearch=armani%2520milano
http://search.yalp.alice.it/search/search.html?txtToSearch=danilo%2520gallinari&ricerca=web
http://www.legabaskettv.it/11/Le-Top-10-della-Stagione

[ecuhus]

The latest rumor about Danilo (http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/writers/ian_thomsen/06/11/mock.draft/index.html) is that he will stay in Italy unless he is selected by the Knicks or the Nets.

[

[nextstar1019]

i have a feeling that hes just saying that
so many people have played this card before
look at jianlian

hes just trying to land with a team he wants to play for

[gallinarifan]

Video of Danilo visiting the Knicks...

http://iptv.nyknicks.com/nyknicks/launch.htm?type=fvod&id=479&catid=4