The Phoenix Suns have added some reinforcements from the buyout market, and they’re looking out for more. Following ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski report via his X account that the Suns signed Thaddeus Young, The Arizona Republic’s Duane Rankin reported that their next target is Danilo Gallinari.
“Sources informed The Republic the Suns have also shown interest in Danilo Gallinari, who was released by Detroit,” Rankin wrote in a February 13 story.
Gallinari has spent time with both the Pistons and Wizards during the 2023-24 season. In 32 games, he’s averaged 7.3 points while putting up a true shooting percentage of 61.9%. He’s not the scorer he once was, but he is a floor-stretching big man who can still score in bunches.
The Suns opened up two roster spots when they acquired Royce O’Neale and David Roddy. They have already filled one of them by signing Young. Despite his age, Danilo Gallinari gives the Suns more spacing in their frontcourt, which they don’t have much of outside of Kevin Durant.
Jusuf Nurkic Urges Danilo Gallinari to Join Suns
After the Pistons waived Danilo Gallinari, Suns center Jusuf Nurkic urged Gallinari to join the Suns via his X account on February 9. Nurkic called Gallinari while also calling him “brother” in his native Bosnian language.
If Gallinari signed with the Suns, they would be signing someone who is familiar with Nurkic. The two played together for the Denver Nuggets from 2014 to 2017. The Nuggets never made the playoffs when those two were teammates. Nurkic was traded mid-season in 2017, and Gallinari left the following offseason for the Clippers.
Around the time, the Nuggets had assimilated young talent. Nurkic showed promise, but Nikola Jokic outshined him, who the Nuggets drafted the same year as him. During that timespan, Gallinari established himself as a scorer, but the Nuggets weren’t in a position to win.
Since then, both Gallinari and Nurkic have been on teams that have made the Conference Finals, albeit in different years. Nurkic was on the Trail Blazers team that made the 2019 Western Conference Finals, but he didn’t appear in the postseason due to a broken leg. Gallinari played for the Hawks when they made the Eastern Conference Finals in 2021.
In fact, Gallinari was the one who helped the Hawks eliminate the Sixers when he poked the ball away from Joel Embiid, leading to a breakaway dunk that sent the Hawks to the next round.
Thaddeus Young Receives High Praise After Suns Signing
After the Suns signed Thaddeus Young, Rankin then revealed what he was told about their latest addition.
“A league source described Young as a ‘great’ guy, ‘total pro’ is a ‘crafty’ and can still contribute,” Rankin wrote via his X account.
Young has been in the NBA since 2007. However, the furthest he’s gone in the NBA playoffs was in 2012, back when he played for the Philadelphia 76ers. The Sixers went to Game 7 against the Celtics in the Eastern Conference Semifinals but came up just short. Since then, Young has toiled between missing the playoffs and making a few competitive series in the first round.
That could very well change in Phoenix.
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