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Just four days after Danilo Gallinari outplayed Carmelo Anthony in a Nuggets win in New York City, the Italian forward has signed a four-year $42 million dollar extension to stay in Denver.
Gallinari was the key piece in a trade that sent Melo to the Knicks last season. On Saturday night Gallo showed himself to be the superior player by outscoring, outrebounding, outdefending and generally outplaying Carmelo at Madison Square Gardens. Apparently, the Nuggets have seen enough of Danilo that they are willing to build their future around his burgeoning talents.
At 23 years old, Gallinari is just hitting his stride in the NBA. (Learn more about Danilo Gallinari) He leads the Democratically-oriented Denver offense with 17.4 points per game – one of six Nuggets averaging double-digit points. But what sets Gallo apart from Melo and most other NBA forwards is his commitment to improving his defensive game. Danilo has put in more minutes this season than any other Nugget, and the big reason coach George Karl keeps him on the court is his stalwart defense. Gallinari is +74 in 17 games so far.
Nuggets General Manager Masai Ujiri can count the Gallinari extension as another feather in his cap following the successful trade of Anthony to New York and the re-signing of restricted free agent shooting guard Arron Afflalo in the abbreviated offseason. Ujiri was also responsible for the Nuggets exercising their option on young point guard Ty Lawson late last season, and for the decision to retain sixth man Al Harrington instead of amnestying his contract per the new Collective Bargaining Agreement. The youthful core that Ujiri and young owner Josh Kroenke are building – combined with their willingness to stick with resurgent veterans like Al Harrington and Andre Miller – has made the Nuggets a contender now and into the foreseeable future.
This extension represents a considerable raise for Gallinari, who will make $4,190,182 this season and roughly $10.5 million next season. Thanks to the trade that got Carmelo Anthony and Chauncey Billups’ sizeable contracts off the books, Denver will still have the cap space to consider signing restricted free agent small forward Wilson Chandler when he returns from playing in China this March.
