Danilo Gallinari signs with the Hawks

Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN has reported that Danilo Gallinari has signed a three year, $61.5M deal with the Atlanta Hawks.

Gallinari will make an average of $20.5M for the next three seasons. The 32-year-old averaged 18.7 PPG on 61.2 TS%. This will likely be Gallinari’s last big payday in the league. Gallo will join a young, exciting Hawks team led by Trae Young.

The possibility of a sign and trade was always there for Danilo and the Thunder but it never materialized. The Hawks were one of the few teams who could outright sign Gallinari to a respectable salary.

Several teams were rumored to be interested in Danilo’s services such as the Heat, Mavericks, Hornets and Hawks. Eventually, it seems that Gallinari decided that Atlanta was the ideal landing spot for him.

From the Thunder perspective, it is a shame that the team was never able to trade Danilo and get assets back for him. The team tried orchestrating a Gallinari to Miami trade this past February during the trade deadline. However, the two sides never agreed on an extension so talks fell through. Gallinari ended up finishing the season with Oklahoma City.

Gallinari will aid Trae Young and company on the Hawks’ quest to make the playoffs for the first time since 2017. Danilo will provide excellent scoring abilities, both in isolations and catch and shoot situations, elite shooting and a veteran presence to a very young team.