NEWSLETTER
The Chicago Bulls have their eye on a veteran shooter.
According to NBC Sports Chicago’s K.C. Johnson, the Bulls’ front office is monitoring the potential for Danilo Gallinari to hit the open market:
The Bulls would join a list of contending teams to show interest in Danilo Gallinari should the veteran shooter be waived by the San Antonio Spurs as expected … If this deal were to happen, it would likely be in the neighborhood of $7-8 million annually for two years. Billy Donovan coached Gallinari in Oklahoma City.
The 14-year veteran found himself as a member of the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday afternoon thanks to the blockbuster Dejounte Murray deal. In line to make $21.4 million in the final year of his current contract, the expectation is for the rebuilding Spurs to buy him out and allow him to enter unrestricted free agency.
For Johnson to report the Bulls have interest doesn’t come as a major surprise. Not only does Gallinari have prior experience with both Arturas Karnisovas (w/ Nuggets from 2011-17) and Billy Donovan (with OKC in 2019-20), but he checks a lot of the boxes the Bulls are looking for this offseason.
Gallinari has built a career around his reliable 3-point shot. The big man has knocked down 38.2 percent of his long-range attempts over the course of his career, and he’s shot upward of 40.0 percent over his last four seasons combined. The six-foot-ten forward could also provide the Bulls with another active presence on the glass. While he isn’t the most ferocious rebounder, he did average roughly 5.0 boards during his 25.3 minutes per game last season.
So when it comes to size, shooting, and veteran experience, Gallinari could check a lot of boxes for this Bulls team off the bench. The problem with the big man is that he simply isn’t known for his defensive capabilities, and he also hasn’t appeared in over 68 games in a single season since the 2012-13 campaign. For a roster that just experienced some season-defining injury trouble, this certainly feels noteworthy.
Still, in this market, the Bulls could do a lot worse than someone with Gallinari’s skillset. He’s a player who could slide in pretty effortlessly with almost any playoff-caliber team, which is why I expect the Bulls to have some competition when it comes to adding the 33-year-old (if he’s bought out, of course).
Anyway, Johnson wrote up plenty of other rumors in his piece, so I recommend you give it a read. He addresses Coby White’s value and some names who could be in the mix at back-up center.
UPDATE (2:58)
ESPN’s Dave McMenamin has reiterated that Chicago is interested in adding big man Danilo Gallinari. The veteran forward will be waived by the San Antonio Spurs and multiple contenders will be in pursuit of his sharpshooting.
The question now is whether or not the Bulls will remain as aggressive in this pursuit now that the Kevin Durant news has broken. His trade request will surely stall a lot of the action around the league, as teams will want to see where he lands and what the fallout is.
