Posted by newyorknewyork:

Posted by Pharzeone:

I wasn't going to comment on the subject of why he was drafted in detail but I think it is necessary because you now have posters taking serious liberties with historical fact.

Newsflash newyorknewyork most draft picks are considered the star player on their teams. Where is this groundbreaking terrority. Not too many GMs are going to draft the 11 and 12th man on their college rosters unless that kid has a high potential. Like a Wright, Terry or Maggette.

The guy was described as an good international prospect in a draft year where international prospects were not highly touted. When Chad Ford is blasting a Euro as nothing special then it is time to rethink the decision. DraftExpress was the only site that was giving him high marks. And even those weren't knock your socks off like some now what to make them.

Also noted on many scouting reports was inability to get by "certain" type of players. Now normally when I see something like that it is a red flag. Means that the prospect doesn't really have the lateral quickness to get by defenders who have you guess it lateral quickness.

As noted in NBADRAFT.NET assessment

His body has ways to go before it will be on the NBA level Athleticism and explosiveness are just average Struggles dribbling the ball against physical defenders which hurts even more considering his blow by ability is limited His secondary moves off the dribble are subpar and he is often forced to shoot difficult and offbalance shots Tends to dribble the ball high and even looks down on it as he is attacking, hurting his court vision and decision making Has minimal elevation on his jumpshot, he is more of a set shooter and his release is very robotic and lacks fluidness His legs are stiff which makes his movements seem a bit awkward and it takes away from his quickness While he has good height, he is strictly a perimeter player as he has minimal back to the basket moves and his weak frame also makes him a non threat in the post His rebounding numbers are only decent, for a player at his position, getting major minutes, they should be higher Defensively he is a liability; he gambles too much, plays with his hands down and is undisciplined Marginal foot speed and a weak body will leave his opponents salivating in excitement to abuse the mismatch

Now this was noted prior to his run in with Tractor. So you have one of two choices. Either note that he had a serious back issues prior to his draft and I guess for awhile that limited what you believe he is capable of doing or acknowledge that he was never capable of performing such feats as are now being described by some posters as gospel. I don't think there is a middle ground here. Logic doesn't allow it.

I didn't see you posting this news flash when people were stating how Gallinari was only drafted because of MDA connections or to sell tickets. I wonder why?

Draftexpress 2006

When asked to create his own shot from the perimeter, Gallinari doesn’t outright explode past opponents, but rather uses his mind and terrific skill-set to maneuver his way to the basket, using strong head fakes, terrific ball-handling ability and plenty of craft to outsmart his defender and find space to operate. Once he gets in the lane, his strong body and gritty determination allow him to take contact from opponents and still finish strong. All these characteristics help him become a solid slashing threat at a very high European level from what we saw both here as well as on tape, but it’s not quite clear how effective he’ll be in this area once he reaches the next level—either the Euroleague or NBA.

What is clear is that Gallinari does not force the issue. He is incredibly poised and mature for someone this young, being highly unselfish and more than willing to play within the flow of the offense and defer to his more veteran teammates when need be. He’s a terrific passer who has indeed been hailed as a bit of a point forward, ala Dejan Bodiroga, and from what we’ve seen there isn’t any reason to dispute that.

Draftexpress feb 2007

Gallinari’s characteristics speak maturity any way you look at them, and he’s still a guy with great potential. He’s really long, already in the 6-10 neighborhood, enjoys a good wingspan and a notable frame. Actually, he’s a pretty strong player who holds his own against top international competition. It’s interesting to note how in both games, Gallinari shot a combined 21/22 from the free-throw line. It speaks wonders about his free-throw shooting (obviously), but particularly about his ability to force fouls. Despite being only 18 years old, he’s rather aggressive in terms of attacking his rivals, precisely taking advantage of that strength and frame. He uses his body really well while slashing, which paired with his footwork, ball-handling, ability to finish near the basket, basketball IQ and even his excellent size, helps him to easier see the court, allow him to keep perfect control of the situation and take good decisions in motion.

Draft express Nov 2007

Anyway, it’s still remarkable that a 19-year-old kid becomes the leader of a Euroleague squad. Danilo had 18 points, 7 rebounds and 3 steals against Unicaja in the Euroleague, and went for 16 points, 6 rebounds and 6 steals against Varese in the Italian Lega. We’re not talking about a guy who randomly gets points in the flow of the game, but a player who actively takes decisions on the court. Not surprising since Gallinari is arguably the best one-on-one player on the team. As we could see against Unicaja, he repeatedly attacked his opponents off the dribble. It’s a combination of his excellent ball-handling skills with both hands, great use of his body, terrific footwork, and very nice ability to finish around the rim with difficult layups. He delivered the play of the game with a wonderful coast-to-coast play, dribbling in traffic and finishing with a left-handed lay-up. With his team trailing in the last quarter, he went as far as to demand the ball and take it up-court himself.

I could post more and more but im not going to. Everyone here already knows that you didn't want Gallo as the pick because you like your big men a certain way. So it would be a waste of time even getting into it with you post after post. But I wonder how a guy with chronic back issues was able to handle getting hit so much and going to the line so much last yr or throughout his european career? Or a guy with such poor blow by ability be able to get in the lane and be able to create that contact?

Posted by PresIke:

Posted by islesfan:

Posted by newyorknewyork:

Posted by martin:

Posted by newyorknewyork:

The Knicks drafted Gallinari because of his passion & love for the game of basketball, work ethic, desire to be great, IQ, heart, toughness, confidence, intensity, poise. Then there is the fact that he was the star player and go to guy at 18-19yrs old vs grown as men in the top level in Europe. A guy that only played better as the pressure of the situation and game got higher. As the go to guy he was able to attack the basket drawing fouls, or shoot the ball from anywhere on the floor, Had good handle and passing ability for a guy his size.

They felt they were getting a guy with that *IT* factor characteristic wise, that all great basketball players have. As well as identifiable skill set with his ability to handle, shoot, and pass.

I don't believe he had serious back issues in the past because Draft express has scouting reports that have been scouting him since 2005 and none of the mention him having any type of back issues. And they have no reason to withhold that information if he did. Then there is the fact that Gallo played deep into the season last yr for his team which is why he missed some draft workouts during the draft. How is a player going to have serious back problems yet have the season that he had last yr in Europe as the go to guy with teams attacking him and putting there best and most aggressive player on him to slow him down? He was also able to play very well in the 2nd half of the summer league game until he got Trailor'd.

If he has serious back problems yet was still able to have the seasons he had in Europe then imagine if his back was never hurt. He would be like the greatest player ever.

at first I thought this was nixluva posting

I felt like nixluva when I was writing that. But that's why I believe they drafted Gallo which is why I won't knock the pick. I have no problem with our GM taking a guy who has the desire and work ethic to be great.

How do you know that he does?

What exactly was he doing from July up until training camp to get his body straight?

since none one can apparently come up with an answer, how about looking at what he's been doing since he joined the team, which is spending 5 hours a day before games to get read to play. having to look like a fool on the sidelines after he plays to stretch his back, and that he kept trying to play through the pain up to the point where he is only 50-60% healthy, and even then said he would keep playing if they wanted him too.

to me that sounds like it's more likely he's been trying to do everything he can to deal with it, unless you can present some compelling evidence to the contrary.

Posted by BasketballJones:

It's like I said: Gallo's back is the new Marbury.

Posted by CrushAlot:

Kiki has alot of credibility and is very professional. Vescey has said that he has never lied to him throughout a 30 year relationship. Vescey can be pretty vindictive so I give Kiki the benefit of the doubt in this situation until someone proves he is lying. I am not sure what his agenda would be to lie about a draft where his team smoked the Knicks 9 months ago. He could have dropped a line about concern about the competition, athleticism, defense etc (see draftnet report) but he mentioned the back.

Posted by nychamp:

Posted by CrushAlot:

Kiki has alot of credibility and is very professional. Vescey has said that he has never lied to him throughout a 30 year relationship. Vescey can be pretty vindictive so I give Kiki the benefit of the doubt in this situation until someone proves he is lying. I am not sure what his agenda would be to lie about a draft where his team smoked the Knicks 9 months ago. He could have dropped a line about concern about the competition, athleticism, defense etc (see draftnet report) but he mentioned the back.

Not doubting Kiki, nor do I think he has an agenda either. Let's just get some reporting, some facts. Before I imagine what he might have known, or might have been referring to, I would like some reporters to ask questions, talk to scouts, talk to doctors, and dig up some documented facts. You know, reporting. Should it show that there was clear evidence of a back problem, I'll be duly pissed off.

Posted by Marv:

yeah yeah yeah.

drama drama drama.

when things don't work out just the way you want them to there's always gotta be a villain right?

well sometimes it's just about how the cookie crumbles isn’t it? ask greg oden. and portland fans

kwame brown just destroys tyson chandler in workouts and earns the wizards' trust in him.

okafor or howard was a pretty big toss-up going in.

danny granger drops like a rock cuz everyone's scared stiff of his injuries but gerald green is snatched up because he's a phenom.

how's joe alexander doing? and why did so many people pass on chris d-r and mario chalmers?

it'd be fun if someone dug up last year's predraft threads. people were KILLING eric gordon as a short chucking 2-guard that we didn’t need. brook lopez was non-athletic, methodical, non-impact.

but we're about to go national enquirer here now over an injury to a player and a river’s gonna be cried about how things turned out. better yet a full-scale conspiracy investigation is gonna be launched.

all right. carry on.

Post more? You posting the same. This scouting report done by Draft Express doesn't fit what he displayed as a member of the Knick organization. You know what scouting report was spot on? That's right NBADRAFT.NET

1) His body has ways to go before it will be on the NBA level Athleticism and explosiveness are just average Struggles dribbling the ball against physical defenders which hurts even more considering his blow by ability is limited

Yep, noticed that right from the beginning. People tried to explain it away as a result of his bad back from injury but the problem is that this scouting report supposely predates any back injury. I guess he was 60-70% when they scouted him that day too.

2) His secondary moves off the dribble are subpar and he is often forced to shoot difficult and offbalance shots

Yep, this is a constant complaint in game threads about Gallinari. Some posters try the back others say he is still learning but once again, kudos to NBADRAFT.NET for getting it right. Once again report predates summer league. So what's the problem here.

3) Tends to dribble the ball high and even looks down on it as he is attacking, hurting his court vision and decision making

LOL, another complaint in the game threads. High dribble, unsure of what to do with his dribble which on many occassions resulted in a traveling call, or Gallinari eating up seconds in the same position.

4) Has minimal elevation on his jumpshot, he is more of a set shooter and his release is very robotic and lacks fluidness

I know we all know about his lack of vertical. Once again, people want to try to use the back excuse but this report predates the Tractor run in. I already noted that I think Gallinari seems to be just a 3 point specialist in the NBA. I mean there are threads of debate about this issue (the Larry Bird Statue). He appears to be a great set shooter but is susceptible to tight defense which is what we notice during games when he seems forced to pass out of what appears to be an open shot when he has a man closing on him.

5) His legs are stiff which makes his movements seem a bit awkward and it takes away from his quickness

I haven't seen anything to take away from assessment. I offer that he has always had a bad back which may explain it actually. If your back hurts you aren't going to be moving with ease too much.

I could go on as well. But I already proved my point. If you are going to use Draft Express as your only source be careful because Givony already admitted to being bias on certain players in his assessment because of relationships he developed with them. Gallinari was a player he named of having a relationship on NBATV leading up to the draft. Givony is a decent enough guy but he sometimes believes most players can overcome their weaknesses over time.

logging Through Europe (Part Six: France)

by: Jonathan Givony - President
December 8, 2007
A quick flight from Berlin to Paris and then a two hour drive down to Le Mans brought me to the hottest spot in Europe for NBA scouts to be this week—a matchup between lottery pick candidates Nicolas Batum and Danilo Gallinari.

Armani Jeans Milano’s struggles have been well documented on this blog over the past week (this is the third time I’m seeing them in 7 days). They are not alone, though, as Le Mans has been struggling so far in the Euroleague this season as well, still not having won any games 6 contests into the first round.
They have struggled to find any rhythm at the point guard position in particular, being forced to go with a young converted Israeli shooting guard by the name of Raviv Limonad to run their offense, with an equally young converted French shooting guard, Yannick Bokolo, as his backup.

Their two import players, both American big men, and expected to provide leadership on this young squad, have been very inconsistent as well. Sam Clancy is a starter and is an excellent low post presence offensively, but gives very little in the ways of a presence defensively or rebounding-wise. Phil Ricci is the other American big man, and a season playing in the Korean league, where players get paid big bucks but barely practice or are forced to play any type of real competitive basketball, did not treat him well.

Besides that there is a lot of youth on this team, including NBA draft prospects Nicolas Batum and Antoine Diot, and former draft prospect Alain Koffi, who turned in an excellent game here.

Milano Defeats Le Mans

This was not exactly what you would call a high quality matchup as far as the level of play was concerned. Milano likes to play a deliberate, grind it out style led by their slow as molasses 37-year old point guard Melvin Booker, and they managed to impose their will on the tempo of this game throughout the contest.

Le Mans had many chances to come out on top, but just did not show the heart at the end to break their losing run in the Euroleague so far. Milano outrebounded them 38 to 20, outhustling Le Mans for huge offensive rebound after huge offensive rebound over the top of the anemic Sam Clancy in the fourth quarter in particular. When they needed a basket, they really lacked a go-to guy to step up and show leadership in the decisive moments.

We’ll get one more chance to watch them play on Saturday when they host the top team in the French League, Nancy.

Gallinari Wins in a Knockout

The highly anticipated matchup between Danilo Gallinari and Nicolas Batum was a bit of a dud, not draw ingas many head to head possessions as we might have hoped. Batum picked up two early fouls in the first quarter, and then another late in the 2nd, playing only seven minutes or so in the first half, and just 19 minutes total.

Gallinari on the other hand was spectacular, playing a massive role in his team’s eventual victory, sometimes just with pure grit and determination—exactly what we wanted to see if you read our blog from earlier this week.

Offensively, he put a tremendous amount of pressure on the defense, creating his own shot time after time and making fantastic decisions with the ball in his hands. His slashing forays to the rim opened up Le Mans’s defense considerably, and created numerous open looks for his teammates on the wing—resulting in a game-high 5 assists. He does a wonderful job keeping his man off balance on his heels with a series of jukes and shakes, never giving his defender any hint as to which direction he’ll slash until it’s basically too late. He uses screens exceptionally well and is constantly reading the defense—showing a mastery of picking optimal angles and never driving in a straight line thanks to his fluid body control. That’s why despite the fact that his first step isn’t prototypically explosive for an NBA small forward, he gets his shot almost whenever he wants—more so with his skills and smarts. The fact that he doesn’t explode into the lane at 100 miles (or kilometers) an hour means that there is a real under control nature to his drives, one that exudes patience and elegance and also allows him to finish superbly around the basket, or find the open man once the defense rotates. The fact that he drew 12 fouls in 31 minutes is a great testament to his effectiveness in this area.

Gallinari did a better job in the paint that we saw in the first two games. His team posted him up on a couple of occasions, and he delivered some really nice moves—once with a pivot move (called for a travel), once with a terrific up and under, another time with an excellent spin, while also doing outstanding work on the offensive glass. He finished with a game-high 4 offensive rebounds (7 total), sometimes following his own miss for a put-back, always showing a lot of determination, and really looking passionate about coming away with a much needed victory here on the road.

Defensively, there was a lot to like this time around—an area that we had some criticism about in our previous blog. He looked more focused staying in front of his man, taking a lot of pride on this end of the floor, and even stepping in for a charge on one occasion. He guarded Batum most of the time that the two were on the floor together, and did not allow him to get past him, which is a good sign.

All in all, this was a very impressive performance from a 19 year old player at the top level of Europe. The fact that he was such an indispensable cog in his team’s very important victory on the road made this a very significant performance as far as the scouts we talked to were concerned. Teams that were represented included the Portland Trailblazers (Chad Buchannan), Minnesota Timberwolves (Pete Philo), Boston Celtics (Ryan McDonough), Charlotte Bobcats (Scott Howard and Rich Shuebrooks), Denver Nuggets (Simon Cote), Cleveland Cavaliers (Chico Averbuck), Golden State Warriors (Kosta Jankov) and probably others that we did not get to see or talk to.

What About Batum?

Even though he only played 19 minutes because of ticky-tack foul trouble, there were still some positive things to take away from Nicolas Batum’s performance. We’ll be watching one more game of his here against Nancy which we’d also like to factor into our evaluation, so sit tight for a minute and expect a pretty detailed report on the next blog.