MEET THE ITALIAN STALLION

http://www.nypost.com/seven/05222008/sports/knicks/meet_the_italian_stallion_111964.htm?page=0

Danilo Gallinari is a tough-as-nails Italian stallion who will become more popular than "The Sopranos" if drafted by the Knicks.

That's the view of some European-based NBA scouts who see Gallinari's skills, versatility, height, power, breeding and shot making worthy of a high lottery pick.

Others, however, wonder if Gallinari's athleticism is good enough for him to be a competent NBA defender at small forward.

Gallinari, a 19-year-old, 6-foot-10 superstar of the Italian League, has become the NBA draft's biggest mystery - as anonymous as Rocky before fighting Apollo Creed.

However, Gallinari is squarely on the Knicks' radar, especially after the lottery pingpong balls sent them falling to the sixth pick, especially with new coach Mike D'Antoni a connoisseur of Italian basketball.

Knicks president Donnie Walsh dispatched Isiah Thomas overseas last week to take a look at Gallinari.

Gallinari, playing in the Italian League playoffs for Armani Jeans Milan, likely will be the first European taken in the June 26 draft. Whether he is worthy of the sixth pick is something Walsh will agonize over for weeks.

Walsh is considering whether to make a draft-day deal, move down a few pegs, or trade the pick altogether if they can entice a team to take on Zach Randolph's cap-killing contract.

"He's better than [Andreas] Bargnani, no question," one longtime Eastern Conference European scout told The Post, referring to the No. 1 pick of the 2006 Draft. "He's Tom Chambers. Nobody's said that before.

"The guy doesn't back down from anybody. You're in his face. He'll get right back at them," the scout added. "Knick fans would love him. The only Europeans who succeed in the NBA are the tough ones . The Italian league is better than college. If you put him in college ball, he'd be getting 25-30 (points) a night and everyone would be going ga-ga."

At No. 6, the Knicks may be stuck in a position where speedy point guard Jerryd Bayless, combo guard O.J. Mayo and Stanford center Brook Lopez are off the board, leaving them with a pool of more questionable prospects.

Bayless, Mayo and Lopez are considered the three players most ready to make an impact next season after the obvious top two picks, Derrick Rose and Michael Beasley. With the draft order settled, the first mock draft for Insidehoops.com yesterday had the Knicks taking Gallinari, who would be the first European on their roster since Maciej Lampe in 2004. Thomas shunned European talent during his reign.

Gallinari, averaging 17.4 points and 5.6 rebounds, is finishing up the Italian League playoffs and will miss the pre-draft camp physicals next week. Workouts with NBA teams loom pivotal.

"He's 6-10 with a lot of skill, not the usual European player who comes over here," Walsh said. "He could be a very high pick. Once he gets through his playoffs and works out for people, we'll know where his stock is, but he's a really good prospect."

Gallinari's father, Vittorio, was a Milan teammate of D'Antoni's for seven seasons. Vittorio is now a high-profile agent. D'Antoni speaks fluent Italian and would have an easier time reaching the teenager. One scout said he could be D'Antoni's New York version of Boris Diaw, using the small forward in the post on occasion to form mismatches, as he did with Diaw in Phoenix.

"There's a connection there, but I don't know what Donnie's thinking is," D'Antoni said.

Former Knicks international scouting director Tim Shea, who worked with D'Antoni in Phoenix, said, "[Vittorio] was the enforcer, he was the sheriff. He played defense like nobody's business. The son's not there but he's tough."

Another longtime NBA scouting director for Europe who lives in Italy said, "He's got a complete package, he can shoot, slash to the basket, he's a finisher, good body control. You can give him the ball with six seconds on the shot clock and he can get his shot off."

However, there are skeptics. One NBA executive is concerned about the younger Gallinari's athleticism.

"He's not a jumper," the executive said. "He's a guy who could struggle defensively if you speed up the game. It's a red flag."

Shea, coaching this season in South Korea, said, "The questions are lateral quickness and center of gravity and how he will cover guys. But the skills are there."

i get a sinking feeling we're drafting this guy and stashing him for at least a year.

Posted by crzymdups:

i get a sinking feeling we're drafting this guy and stashing him for at least a year.

You dont stash a 6 pick and I will invite anyone to watch his video tapes. Whoever compared him to Tom Chambers is snorting glue. The last thing we need is another SF especially one who is slow and cant play defense.

I don't see the stashing part. D'Antoni will want to get his hands on the kid right away and start grooming him. We're not in a position to take guys just to have on ice. NY fans will want to see something from this new regime and our pick is one of those things. DG is WAY more elusive than Bargnani. He's got a more ****y edge to him from what I saw of him.

Wether we go for DG, McGee or Westbrook, I feel like we'll get a player this draft who can fit into what D'Antoni wants to do. I feel better about this draft now that the dust has settled a bit. I watched a lot of DG video and I was impressed. He's faster than Wally and a few other NBA pros who manage to stay in the league. He gets around his man and can take the ball full court with good control. He doesn't look like he's a 6-10 guy with how well he handles the ball. On D he'll probably get beat by smaller quicker guys, but so few NBA guys are really stoppers anyway. I'm more interested in how he fits into a TEAM defensive concept and how he holds up if he's posted. Let's face it, the better players in this league can get around any defender, so let's not make it sound like he has to be a top tier defender to be able to stick in the league.

Posted by TrueBlue:

But Bargs is a Bust so far, so that's not saying much.

I heard he's better than Frederick Weiss!

Posted by BRIGGS:

Posted by crzymdups:

i get a sinking feeling we're drafting this guy and stashing him for at least a year.

You dont stash a 6 pick and I will invite anyone to watch his video tapes. Whoever compared him to Tom Chambers is snorting glue. The last thing we need is another SF especially one who is slow and cant play defense.

i've gone through every YouTube clip i could find on him & he reminds me a lot of a younger Toni Kukoc... he turned out to be a helluva player for the Bulls over his career.

True, we're not blessed to be as "in tune" with the Knicks' management or to have attended every single college game ever played & seen these players play firsthand & in person as you are apparently to not fall like blind sheep to the propaganda... you're too good for us dude.

[Edited by - TMS on 05-22-2008 2:35 PM]

Posted by SlimPack:

Posted by TrueBlue:

Posted by Bonn1997:

Posted by TrueBlue:

But Bargs is a Bust so far, so that's not saying much.

I heard he's better than Frederick Weiss!

You know what's funny is how fans get behind whatever could potentially be fed to them. Our org is kind of giving feelers out we may pic DG at #6 and then like blind sheep our fans follow the shepherd. Our org could have said Bayless is appealing and the masses would be like 'hey his youtube videos remind me of a young Mitch Richmond I'll take it" or we could have hinted at possibly drafting Augustin and the masses would be like "hey his Youtube Vids remind me of a young Terrell Brandon I'll take it" or we could have hinted at drafting Mareese Speights and the masses would be like "hey his Youtube vids remind me of a young Jerome Kersey in his prime I'll take it"

The annoying part is that there is no Marreese Speights youtube clip. . It annoys me because I think he has enough potential for us to consider him, even though no one talks about him. Also I see how you'd be in any position to call people sheep.

Slimpack I'm just pointing out the trends here. This was the case with Frye, Balkman, and Chandler. Frye was going to be Duncan Lite, Balkman=Scottie Pippen, Chandler=Atheltic Reggie Miller. If we aren't skeptical of D'Antoni should we not at least be skeptical of who the team could be hinting at drafting? If we're supposed to step back and give D'Antoni and Donnie a chance then can we please stop trying to bandwagon everything they're doing or potentially may do?

Posted by TrueBlue:

Posted by SlimPack:

Posted by TrueBlue:

Posted by Bonn1997:

Posted by TrueBlue:

But Bargs is a Bust so far, so that's not saying much.

I heard he's better than Frederick Weiss!

You know what's funny is how fans get behind whatever could potentially be fed to them. Our org is kind of giving feelers out we may pic DG at #6 and then like blind sheep our fans follow the shepherd. Our org could have said Bayless is appealing and the masses would be like 'hey his youtube videos remind me of a young Mitch Richmond I'll take it" or we could have hinted at possibly drafting Augustin and the masses would be like "hey his Youtube Vids remind me of a young Terrell Brandon I'll take it" or we could have hinted at drafting Mareese Speights and the masses would be like "hey his Youtube vids remind me of a young Jerome Kersey in his prime I'll take it"

The annoying part is that there is no Marreese Speights youtube clip. . It annoys me because I think he has enough potential for us to consider him, even though no one talks about him. Also I see how you'd be in any position to call people sheep.

Slimpack I'm just pointing out the trends here. This was the case with Frye, Balkman, and Chandler. Frye was going to be Duncan Lite, Balkman=Scottie Pippen, Chandler=Atheltic Reggie Miller. If we aren't skeptical of D'Antoni should we not at least be skeptical of who the team could be hinting at drafting? If we're supposed to step back and give D'Antoni and Donnie a chance then can we please stop trying to bandwagon everything they're doing or potentially may do?

I agree I guess, if that's what you think people are doing.

if we had a guy like Hedo playing for Mike D I think he would be a stud

Posted by fishmike:

if we had a guy like Hedo playing for Mike D I think he would be a stud

Hedo is already somewhat of a stud. MIP=Hedo