Report: Hawks land Danilo Gallinari on three-year, $61.5 million deal
The Atlanta Hawks have found some veteran help for Trae Young.
Free agent Danilo Gallinari has agreed to a three-year, $61.5 million with the Hawks, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
Free agent F Danilo Gallinari is finalizing a three-year, $61.5M contract with the Atlanta Hawks, his agent Michael Tellem of CAA Sports tells ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) November 21, 2020
The contract is Gallinari’s reward for a season that helped propel the Oklahoma City Thunder to a tie for the fourth-best record in the Western Conference. In 62 games, the veteran averaged 18.7 points (and shot 40.5 percent from 3-point range) with 5.2 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game.
Per Wojnarowski, the contract is the biggest ever for a player older than 30 who has not made an All-Star appearance.
Gallinari initially landed with the Thunder as part of the mega-trade that sent Paul George to the Los Angeles Clippers. Now, he’ll join a team likely hoping he can help its young core break through in the East.
The Hawks keep building around Trae Young
Gallinari figures to inject some experience into the Hawks’ group of wings, where young talent abounds. John Collins, De’Andre Hunter, Kevin Huerter and Cam Reddish are all 23 or under, and the addition of Gallinari could shake up the depth chart there.
More importantly, Gallinari should work well alongside star point guard Young. The former fifth overall pick averaged 29.6 points and 9.3 assists per game last season and will now be playing alongside a shooter who was fourth in the NBA in catch-and-shoot 3-pointers per game last season.
The downsides of Gallinari are his age, a sizable injury history and defense. The latter could be a concern considering the Hawks’ struggles on that side of the ball last year. Hopefully, Clint Capela and sixth overall pick Onyeka Okongwu can at least lock down the paint going forward.
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