Dark-Horse Destinations for Top 2020 NBA Free Agentshttps://t.co/hu09BY8XCA via @BleacherReport
— LakerTom (@LakerTom) September 26, 2020
Danilo Gallinari: Los Angeles Lakers
Danilo Gallinari isn’t landing with the Los Angeles Lakers without help—a lot of help.
Getting the Oklahoma City Thunder on board with a sign-and-trade is paramount. The Lakers will only have the non-taxpayer mid-level at their disposal, and Gallinari should fetch more. That’s not the end of the world.
Oklahoma City appears headed for the rebuild it was supposed to enter after it traded Paul George and Russell Westbrook last offseason. That reset won’t include a 32-year-old Gallinari. Some teams might be reluctant to break bread with the Lakers, but if the Thunder aren’t itching to immediately contend in the Western Conference, they won’t be among them.
Netting compensation for a player they may otherwise let walk is more in line with their future. The Lakers don’t have any prime-time assets to offer, but they can build packages around expiring contracts and the No. 28 pick.
Cobbling together enough outgoing money without including Danny Green will be the real challenge. It depends on where Gallinari’s price point falls and how many incumbents exercise their player options. Avery Bradley, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, JaVale McGee and Rajon Rondo all become useful salary filler if they forgo the chance to explore free agency.
A package assembled around Bradley, McGee and Quinn Cook (non-guaranteed) would let the Lakers start Gallinari at around $17.2 million. They can drive up that number by dealing the No. 28 pick as an actual salary, including yet another player or subbing in KCP’s money for anyone.
Is this enough to get the Thunder to bite? Debatable. It is definitely more appealing if they’re saving immediate cash in any eventual Chris Paul trade.
This is much less of a question for the Lakers. Gallinari forces Anthony Davis to play more 5 or for head coach Frank Vogel to roll out supersized lineups with two bigs, Gallo and LeBron James, but that shouldn’t be a deal-breaker. The Lakers can get creative with how they stagger minutes if AD won’t, finally, warm up to being a full-time 5. Gallinari is most valuable to them as a shot creator (and foul-drawer) who can inoculate their half-court offense against huge drop-offs without LeBron anyway.