The name of Danilo Gallinari has been a staple of trade speculations the past three years. This year isn't an exception with so many teams looking for versatile big man on the trading block. The Chicago Bulls apparently is one of them.
Despite their solid 9-6 slate, The Bulls are a team desperately needing more outside shooting and floor-spacing help.
Already settling with one of the worst shooting backcourts in the NBA in Dwyane Wade and Rajon Rondo, Chicago is hounded with the absence of their best shooting winger in Doug McDermott and the inconsistency of Nikola Mirotic.
Gallinari, meanwhile, is shooting 35 percent beyond the arc (just within his career shooting average of 36 percent) and putting up 16 points and 4.6 rebounds per game.
Basketball Insiders analyst Lang Greene was asked by a fan during a chat session if a combination of Mirotic and Taj Gibson would be enough to land Gallinari and solve the Bulls' spacing problem.
Greene however doesn't think the trade idea would prosper since the Nuggets really put a premium on Gallinari as coveted trade chip. Moreover, the regression shown by Mirotic along with the expiring contract of Gibson makes such deal unattractive for the Nuggets to take.
Here's Greene's take on the trade idea:
"I think Denver has a valuable trade chip in Gallo, but why would the Nuggets give him up for Mirotic and Gibson?
Mirotic has been extremely inconsistent. One night he's putting up 24, the next night he goes 0-for-7 in 32 minutes. It is maddening. He was a guy I tagged as a potential breakthrough candidate this season and in some ways he's regressed. I expected more after the Bulls lost Joakim Noah AND Pau Gasol this past summer in free agency.
In regards to Taj, nothing against his game but he's a free agent this summer. The only way Denver should consider this deal is if they're trying to shed salary ... not if they're realistically trying to get better. The Nuggets' frontcourt is crowded as it is with Faried, Arthur, Jokic and Nurkic. Adding in Taj would create too much of a bottleneck."
The Bulls, a team projected to miss the playoffs largely because of their spacing problem, has surprisingly been doing really good so far behind big time performances by Jimmy Butler. On the other hand, there's no doubt Chicago has to pull off a move to address their shooting.