Danilo Gallinari

Joining his third team in as many seasons, Gallinari played a sixth-man role for the Hawks. The veteran saw 24.0 minutes per game and averaged 13.3 points, 4.1 rebounds and 1.5 assists. He also shot at least 40 percent from three and at least 89 percent from the charity stripe for the third straight year. Unfortunately, the Rooster remained an injury liability, as he appeared in 51 games, which marked his seventh straight season playing fewer than 70 games. Ultimately, Gallinari had his worst fantasy season since his rookie year, ranking 149th on a per-game basis. The result wasn't surprising given his age, injury history and the depth of the Hawks. Heading into 2021-22, the 33-year-old will face even tougher minutes competition from the the Hawks' younger players. Fantasy managers in deep leagues can grab Gallinari with a final pick, but he presents nearly no real upside with plenty of risk. He might be best suited for a deep best ball format where injuries are less impactful. Last season likely signaled the start of the final era of Gallinari's career, and this season will probably confirm it.

Gallinari's 2019-20 campaign was strong, as he was a primary offensive option for the Thunder, taking the second-most shots per game (13.2) of his career. That resulted in averages of 18.7 points, 5.2 rebounds, 2.9 threes and 1.9 assists in 29.6 minutes of run. He was efficient, as well, hitting 43.8 percent of his field goals, 40.5 percent of threes and 89.3 percent of free throws. During the offseason, the 32-year-old signed a three-year, $61.5 million contract with the Hawks. He'll reportedly come off the bench behind John Collins. That said, it would be surprising if he couldn't find minutes in the upper-20s given the amount of money he's being paid and the team's playoff expectations. Ultimately, we shouldn't be surprised if Gallinari takes a small step back in fantasy, but he should still be selected in the top 100. Fantasy managers need to keep in mind his extensive injury history, however, which is something that always makes Gallinari a high-risk, high-reward pick.

Playing 68 games last season, Gallinari had his healthiest campaign since 2012-13 (71 games). While health issues have plagued his career (averaging 52.8 appearances over the past five seasons), Gallinari has proven to be a solid scorer when healthy. He reached new heights in 2018-19, posting career highs in points (19.8), rebounds (6.1) and threes (2.4) per game, as well as field-goal percentage (46.3). He also logged two 30-point games, seven outings with double-digit rebounds and eight games with five-plus assists. Gallinari will be joining a new team in 2019-20, as he was included in the trade that brought Paul George to the Clippers from the Thunder. In Oklahoma City, Gallinari looks to be the No. 1 scoring option, though Chris Paul will undoubtedly have control of the offense. The situation could result in Gallinari posting similar numbers to last season, but fantasy owners need to take into account his injury history.

It seems as if Gallinari has been injured for nearly his entire career and the 2017-18 campaign was no different, as he wound up playing in just 21 games due to a non-displaced fracture in his right hand. He's now taken part in less than 65 contests in four straight seasons and that's something that will have to be considered when evaluating him for Fantasy purposes. However, the 30-year-old did post averages of 15.3 points, 4.8 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.7 three-pointers across 32.0 minutes when he was available last year, so he does provide Fantasy-worthy numbers at full strength. Looking forward to the upcoming campaign, Gallinari actually has a big opportunity ahead of him and he's apparently already 100 percent healthy. The Clippers no longer have Blake Griffin or DeAndre Jordan in the fold, which means Gallinari should have the chance to up his usage and his all-around production. Look for Gallinari to open the season as the Clippers starting small forward, which should allow him to log more than 30 minutes on a night-to-night basis. With a more prominent role offensively, Gallinari likely can be used in Fantasy leagues for his points and three-point totals, though it'd be beneficial if he upped his efficiency after shooting a career-low 39.8 percent from the field and 32.4 percent from three-point land last year. As of now, Gallinari's biggest competition for touches will be Lou Williams and Tobias Harris.

Gallinari, who hasn’t played at least 70 games in a season since 2012-13, struggled to stay healthy once more. He played in just 63 games this past season while dealing with ankle, knee and groin injuries. That said, he performed well when he did play, leading the Nuggets in scoring at 18.2 points per game while shooting 44.7 percent from the field and 38.9 percent from deep. Joining the Clippers will likely have to come with an adjustment however, as he’s currently slated to be the starting small forward, a position he occupied just 37.0 percent of the time last year. While he’s spent significant chunks of his career at small forward, his 28-year-old frame is beat up and he was never particularly quick to begin with, making him somewhat of a liability at that position (especially on defense) in the modern NBA. Regardless, he’ll likely spend time at power forward in certain mid-game lineups. As it stands, he’s looking like the number two option on offense for Los Angeles behind Blake Griffin and it doesn’t seem out of the question for Gallinari to hover around his averages from last season.

For the second straight year, Gallinari enters the season looking to rebound from an injury-riddled campaign. Gallinari missed 23 games in 2014-15 and was sidelined for 29 games -- including the final 23 -- of last season after tearing ligaments in his ankle in late February. Prior to the injury, Gallinari was enjoying a strong statistical year, averaging a career-best 19.5 points and 5.3 rebounds to go with 2.5 assists per game. Even more notably, Gallinari attacked the rim at never-before-seen levels, racking up 8.2 free-throw attempts per game -- a full five more than he averaged in 2014-15 -- and hitting them at an 86.8 percent clip. With Wilson Chandler missing all of last season, Gallinari was thrust into an increased role, seeing significant minutes while starting at small forward. Denver will get Chandler back this season, and the Nuggets also retained Will Barton, whose length and defensive abilities make him a multi-positional player. As a result, Gallinari should see a slight drop in playing time after averaging a career-high 34.7 minutes per game last season, though as long as he's healthy, he remains a reliable source of points, three-pointers and free-throw percentage stabilization.

There was much speculation about Gallinari coming into the 2014-15 season due to his recent injury history, but he showed some promise with a very productive season after a slow start in his initial return. After missing the whole 2013-14 season due to a botched knee surgery, Gallinari played in 59 games in his return to the court, including 27 starts. It took Gallo some time to find his groove, but he really turned it on in the last couple of months of the season. In the final two months, Gallinari averaged over 31 minutes, 20 points, and five rebounds per game. His final season numbers came out to 12.4 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 1.4 assists across 24 minutes per game. The season percentages were impressive as well, as he shot 40 percent from the field, 36 percent from three-point range, and an impeccable 90 percent from the free-throw line. The first couple of months really brought down his season numbers, and the final two months are a better indicator of what's to come for Gallinari. What really stood out were the two games in which Gallinari dropped 47 and 40 points verses Orlando and Dallas. He should be the regular starting small forward for the Nuggets this season and see a bump in minutes like he did at the end of last season. It appears Gallo is fully healthy, and if he is, he could match career highs across the board this season, but most importantly, it appears he's actually healthy heading in fantast drafts this season.

Danilo Gallinari's (knee) rehab process has gone as planned, and it looks increasingly likely that he will be able to return for training camp. He missed the entire 2013-14 season due to a torn ACL, which he eventually had surgically repaired in January of this year. Still just 25 years old, Gallinari should be plenty motivated to make a strong comeback after last season's frustrating campaign. While we're decidedly skeptical about Gallinari's health for the start of this season due to how poorly the Nuggets managed his injury last season, if he's healthy, he should be the starter at small forward, which should put him in position to be a fantasy boon in three-pointers this season.

While he could return from a knee injury sometime in December, it wouldn't be wise to rely on his return before the calendar turns to 2014. The oft-injured sharpshooter played in 71 games before his ACL injury last season, but prior to that, we have to go all the way back to 2009-10 to find a season in which he played more than 60 games. However, once he's back and close to 100 percent, it will be quite the shot in the arm for the fantasy teams that own him. Last season, he averaged 16.2 points with 1.9 three-pointers in 33 minutes per game. Unfortunately, he has shot between 41 and 42 percent from the field in each of his last three seasons, so that seems to be a reasonable expectation once again. The Nuggets are not without options on the wing and at the four, so Gallinari will be fortunate to get 33 minutes per game again. Still, he's a career 84 percent free-throw shooter and averaged 5.2 boards and 0.9 steals per game last season, so he brings more to the table than just scoring and long-range shooting. He'll start the season on your bench but could become a weekly starter when he returns in a couple months.

Last season was a bit of a disappointment for Gallinari and his fantasy owners. He seemed poised to breakout and become a legit go-to option for the Nuggets, but as has been the case throughout his career, injuries limited his production. He missed 23 games in 2011-12, after missing 16 games the previous season. Gallinari also dealt with back and shoulder injuries while playing internationally this summer. So, considering his previous issues staying on the court, expectations need to be somewhat tempered heading into the 2012-13 season. The Nuggets traded for Andre Iguodala this offseason and will be featuring Wilson Chandler more prominently as well, so Gallinari won’t be asked to do it all by himself. He’s never been as efficient of a shooter as many thought he’d be, but he has still put up between 14-to-16 points per game over the past five seasons.

After a midseason trade to the Nuggets from the outside-shot-happy Knicks, Gallinari became one of the better players in the league at attacking the basket and getting to the charity stripe. And given Gallinari’s career free-throw percentage of 84.7 that should translate into increased fantasy value this coming season. Gallinari’s expected to hold down the team’s starting small forward slot again this year, and with J.R. Smith and Kenyon Martin possibly leaving the team via free agency, there should be more minutes and shots available for him, especially with Wilson Chandler - who signed with a Chinese-league team - out of the picture for the time being. Gallinari could be one of the focal points of the team’s offense, and a breakout season could be in store.

Although Gallinari's 15.1 points per game from last season might not cry "fantasy star in the making," there are some reasons to be optimistic about the Knick's fantasy prospects for 2010-11. For one, Gallinari proved to be more durable last year than even his most ardent supporters could've probably expected. After having considerable problems with his back during his rookie campaign – complications that forced him to miss all but 28 games – Gallinari played in 81 last season. Second, was his performance towards the end of the season. During eight April contests, Gallinari took on a much larger role, as coach Mike D'Antoni took stock of his talent entering the offseason. In that time, Gallinari averaged 22.4 points, 5.9 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 2.8 threes per game – all considerably above his season averages. Notably, his shooting percentage changed little over this period (43.5, as compared to 42.3 for the season), suggesting both that (a) Gallinari's success wasn't a sample-size fluke and (b) he could maintain his efficiency even while handling more possessions. Finally, it's hard not to like the way Gallinari's second NBA season compares to Danny Granger's (back in 2006-07). In almost every category that matters, the two are virtually identical: points (15.1 for Gallinari, 13.9 for Granger), rebounds (4.9, 4.6), threes (2.3, 1.3), steals (0.9, 0.8), blocks (0.7, 0.7), and field goal percentage (42.3%, 45.9%). Plus, the Italian was more than two years younger while putting up his line. Of course, that doesn't mean he'll ultimately become the present day Granger, but it bodes well, nonetheless.

Gallinari saw his rookie campaign cut very short due to a bulging disk in his back that bothered him all season and eventually led to season-ending surgery. This is a big red flag for a young international player that already faced questions about whether he’d be physically able to compete in the NBA. On the bright side, Gallinari is expected to be healthy at the start of training camp, and he is exceedingly confident, having already announced his willingness to be the new face of the Knicks. Gallinari was a star in Europe, and as a 6-9 point forward with strong ball-handling ability he may be able to operate in a Hedo Turkoglu-like mold despite lacking upper echelon athleticism. Gallinari has a good midrange jumper and excellent passing skills, but if he’s guarded by smaller wings he’ll have to knock down the consistent trey over shorter opponents or take them to the block and score over them. Gallinari also has to beat out solid frontcourt players like Wilson Chandler and David Lee for playing time, which increases the risk of relying upon him. Nevertheless he has upside, and he is going to be playing for Mike D’Antoni who has a history as a star-maker, so Gallinari should be on your radar.

The sixth-overall selection in the 2008 Draft, Gallinari showed a glimpse of his potential in the Vegas Summer League - the ability to run the floor, a very smooth outside shot, and the strength to finish in traffic. Unfortunately, it was a very brief glimpse - back problems ended his summer before the buzzer sounded in the Knicks' first game. Long-term, Gallinari could emerge as a really interesting combo forward and complement to Wilson Chandler. But considering his age (20), inexperience and the Knicks' glut of forwards, it's hard to imagine he'll contribute much as a rookie.

The sixth-overall selection in the 2008 Draft, Gallinari showed a glimpse of his potential in the Vegas Summer League - the ability to run the floor, a very smooth outside shot, and the strength to finish in traffic. Unfortunately, it was a very brief glimpse - back problems ended his summer before the buzzer sounded in the Knicks' first game. Long-term, Gallinari could emerge as a really interesting combo forward and complement to Wilson Chandler. But considering his age (20), inexperience and the Knicks' glut of forwards, it's hard to imagine he'll contribute much as a rookie.