The Denver Nuggets are at the center of the NBA news cycle recently with the Ty Lawson trade and their roster overhaul as they look toward the future. The Nuggets are clearly in rebuild mode, which is why there have been rumors about them trading a lot of their veteran players, including Kenneth Faried, Wilson Chandler and Danilo Gallinari. Gallinari specifically is reportedly getting a lot of interest from other teams, but now it appears that he is in talks with the Nuggets about a potential contract extension, according to Sportnado.
Last week it seemed like the Nuggets were shopping Gallinari and there were teams interested in trading for him, including the Boston Celtics. Now it is being reported that the Nuggets have no interest in shopping him at all and that an extension seems likely.
Gallinari's contract with the Nuggets is set to expire after next season, and he is expected to make a little more than $11.5 million in 2015-16. Gallinari was the sixth overall pick in the 2008 NBA Draft and will turn 27 in the beginning of August, so he is still young enough to be a centerpiece for the Nuggets as they look to rebuild around him and rookie point guard Emmanuel Mudiay.
Last season Gallinari came back in the middle of the season from a torn ACL and started off rusty. Toward the end of the season he started to find his form and made his end-of-season numbers look more respectable. In 24.2 minutes per game he averaged 12.4 points and 3.7 rebounds while knocking down 36 percent of his threes.
Gallinari is a proven NBA scorer, and although it took him a little while to find his groove he showed at the end of last season that he is back to his old form and should be able to contribute big numbers for the Nuggets next season, with Lawson gone, as the go-to-guy on offense.
At 6-foot-10 Gallinari is not a great rebounder and his defense leaves a lot to be desired, but a guy that can score the ball as effectively as he can is very valuable and he is the best offensive player the Nuggets have left on their roster. Attempting to sign him to an extension is a wise move as long as they don't overpay him, as he is not the type of player that is going to lead a team to the postseason and beyond.
