The cavalry — in the form of one of the better shooting power forwards in the game — will not be riding over the hill to save the Denver Nuggets this season.
Danillo Gallinari is out for the season.
Not that he has played so far this season, but his return was expected. Gallinari has been out since a knee injury last April and has been vague recently about his return to the NBA this season, he’s just been rehabbing in Italy. Now we know why he has been vague, thanks to a report from Adrian Wojnarowki of Yahoo Sports.
I’m not in a position to question medical experts on this, but I will say I don’t remember seeing a second knee surgery quite like this before.
Gallinari should be back early next season, according to the report.
Late last season, just as Denver was becoming a lot of people’s “you don’t want them in the first round” pick, Gallinari blew out his knee and had surgery that has kept him out since. He had averaged 16.3 points a game and his stretch four skills fit well in what George Karl wanted to do. Since that time, Denver’s front office and roster have been overhauled.
I guess next season we’ll see how Gallinari fits in what Brian Shaw wants to do.
