Demystifying Danilo
A Deeper Look at Gallinari
Posted by Matthew McQueeny
June 23, 2008

With the 2008 NBA Draft upon us, one of the most interesting developments for the New Jersey Nets surrounds the plotline of Danilo Gallinari, the 19 year-old, 6'10" forward out of Italy.

Why?

Well, for one, he and his camp have inferred that they would prefer he played in the area, as a Net or a New York Knick.

"New York and New Jersey are my favorite places to play, so the focus is on these two places," Gallinari said following his official work out for the Knicks.

It would be naïve not to conjecture the presumed reasons at play – namely, the marketing opportunities for an International star in the New York area as well as the favorable top-10 pick proximity with the Knicks and Nets.

Several mock drafts have Gallinari, who last season led his Armani Jeans Milano team in scoring (17.5 points) and was second in rebounding (5.7 rebounding), right in the conversation for the Nets or Knicks pick.

"New York is similar to Milan," he said, after his Knicks workout when asked what he likes about the area.

"The way of the street, the way of buildings. New Jersey is a little different. More open spaces. But I just like the two."

Though his workouts have included no competition against other players – a stipulation to his participation – the Nets liked what they saw from him when he came to their practice facility this month.

"He's a talented guy and a very good shooter," said Kiki Vandeweghe to the media, following the workout.

"He's young at 19, so like all the young kids you always have things to work on. I have seen him play in Europe. I went over there to watch him play and I've seen him on DVD."

As noted earlier, he was his team's leading scorer and did so shooting 46 percent from the field, 86 percent from the line, and 41 percent from three in 29 games. He is talked about as versatile, skilled, and basketball-intelligent; a basketball player. When peering around the draft sites, a Hedo Turkoglu-type player is a name that comes up. If we are talking about the Turkoglu of this past season – who averaged 19.5 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 5.0 assists – or in a best-case scenario a player with the potential to be in that range, then that is a tremendous comparison for a team looking to draft Gallinari.

ESPN analyst and former NCAA Head Coach Fran Franschilla – who specializes in breaking down the International scene – really likes the kid’s maturity at such a young age.

“(Gallinari) is mature beyond his years - to be the leading scorer on a team in the Euroleague, you have to be tough-minded,’’ Fraschilla told the New York Post. “Where he plays is a full level above the Big East and ACC (conferences). He’d be one of the top three, four players in college basketball.’’

"He's tall, I did not realize how tall he is," Wolves General Manager Jim Stack told the Minneapolis Star-Tribune after seeing Gallinari work out in Los Angeles.

"(Kevin) McHale stood with him and had him just by a hair. He's unique in that he has guard skills at that height. The challenge for him is if he can adapt to the speed of the NBA game and who he can guard defensively in our league."

Vandeweghe had some of the same concerns when asked about the potential defensive challenges for the European player.

"Listen, that's going to be one of the questions," he told the Star-Ledger. "No question about that. It's something he's going to have to learn to do."

That is the beauty of this time of year: you can dream -- about potential and how you see a new, young player fitting into the system. And then you can put faith into your team's ability to earmark those players who have the will, the capacity, and the desire to learn and get better.