Danilo Gallinari: NBA Draft Profile

NBA Draft: Danilo Gallinari

Team: AJ Milano

Birth Year: 1988

Position: SF

Height: 6’9”

Weight: 209lbs

Accolades: Italian League All-Star (07), Italian U-16 National Team, Italian U-18 National Team, Italian National Team.

Scouting Report:  A strong, highly skilled Italian prospect.

Strengths:  Young but experienced – played pro since 2004.  Plays in the top league outside of the NBA, the Euroleague.  Despite being only 19-years-old, he is the best player on his team.  Very good offensive player.  Great shooting stroke.  Long arms.  Very good off the dribble – can go left or right and finishes strong.  Great leaper.  Can hit the tough shot.  Shooting range extends to three-point territory.  Good size and strength for a small forward.  Solid defender – moves feet, blocks shots, grabs steals.  Great free throw shooter and knows how to get himself to the line.    

Weaknesses:  Needs to improve his three-point accuracy, and get used to the deeper NBA line.  Quick and strong for Europe, but is he athletic and strong enough to guard NBA small or power forwards?  Still isn’t totally consistent – had a zero point Euroleague outing.  Will take time to adjust to the NBA game.  Still young – won’t turn 20-years-old until August.

Projected 2008 Draft Range: Lottery pick.

Consensus:  Gallinari is a very impressive NBA prospect and should be a solid NBA pro.  Whether he has as much “upside” as a prospect like Nicolas Batum is debatable, but Gallinari is definitely more NBA-ready than Batum and has the potential to be an above average NBA player.   

Stats:

Italian League: http://195.56.77.208/player/?id=GAL-DAN-88&year=2007&team=1139

Euroleague: http://www.euroleague.net/competition/players/showplayer?pcode=KRD