Sunday's reported trade sending center Jusuf Nurkic to the Portland Trail Blazers is the Denver Nuggets' first noteworthy move ahead of the Feb. 23 trade deadline, but perhaps not their last.
Italian wing player Danilo Gallinari could be the next piece to leave the Mile High City, with the Toronto Raptors and Los Angeles Clippers among the teams keeping tabs on him and his availability as the deadline approaches, league sources told ESPN's Marc Stein.
It's widely believed across the Association that Denver is looking to move on from the 28-year-old, who possesses a player option of $16.1 million for next season.
Gallinari is expected to bypass that and enter unrestricted free agency, and the franchise reportedly doesn't want to spend big to retain him, so the Nuggets would prefer to receive some sort of compensation before he presumably walks over the summer.
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He's been sidelined with a groin injury since Feb. 1, and is likely to remain out of action until after the All-Star break.
Gallinari leads the Nuggets in scoring with 17.2 points on 43.2 percent shooting from the field and 38.2 percent from behind the arc in 34.2 minutes, while adding 4.9 rebounds, 2.2 assists, and 0.7 steals. Denver is 2.5 points better offensively per 100 possessions when he's on the floor, and gives up 2.9 more points per 100 possessions on defense when he sits.
