Utah Jazz: Top free agent prospects from across the league

 Danilo Gallinari

As trade rumors circled at the deadline this season, Danilo Gallinari was a name that came up on several occasions. As the Nuggets waffled between pushing to nab the final playoff spot in the West or focusing on the future, moving him could have potentially made a lot of sense. However, no deal was made and instead the Nuggets find their leading scorer as an unrestricted free agent this summer.

Although some might argue that Gallinari would be a duplicate at Hayward’s position, he’s also a formidable stretch-four type of player and could help the Jazz go small, or potentially play the three with Hayward at the two in a big lineup, further adding to Utah’s already existent versatility. Or, if the unthinkable happens and Hayward leaves the Jazz, although Gallo wouldn’t fully make up for it by any means, he could be a nice consolation prize.

Injuries have been a long concern for Gallinari as he has missed 20 games or more in five of the last seven seasons, including 2013-14 where he sat out for the entire year. However, he did log the most games this past season that he has since 2012-13, so perhaps that bodes well for his health moving forward.

To be perfectly honest, the Jazz would probably be better off gambling on Derrick Favors than trying to add Gallinari as a stretch-four, however if they were to get him on a good deal or if Hayward were to leave and Gallo was brought over to fill a hole at the three, he could turn out to be a great addition.