Report: Grizzlies pursued Gallinari at trade deadline

This summer, Danilo Gallinari signed a two-year, $34 million extension with the Nuggets, putting off his free agency until the summer of 2018. It should, for now, quiet the trade rumors that have surrounded him pretty consistently during the past few seasons in which Denver’s roster makeup has been in limbo. One team that apparently tried to trade for Gallinari this spring that would have been an interesting fit: Memphis.

From Grantland’s Zach Lowe:

But Gallinari’s positional flexibility is a strength, not a weakness. He should toggle between both positions for any team, depending on roster context, coaching strategy, and specific opponents. Memphis sniffed around Gallinari at the trade deadline, per several league sources, and would have used him just as it did Jeff Green: as its starting small forward, playing heavy minutes at power forward in bench lineups and situations that called for it. Teams with starting frontcourts less accomplished than the Grizzlies’ brothers-from-another-mother, Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol, might tilt the equation toward more minutes for Gallinari at power forward.

The Grizzlies seemingly always lack shooting, and Gallinari’s combination of range and size would have been a great compliment there. Green struggled in that combo forward role, but Gallinari at his best (which we saw the second half of last season) is a better player than Green, so it would have been an interesting addition. But ultimately, Denver decided not to move Gallinari and probably won’t, at least for now.