Introducing Danilo

[Ryoga Hibiki]

I'm sorry if I'll start a new thread, but I've seen so much disappointment in this boards about Danilo's pick, so I wanted to write a few things to let you know what you're getting, to give you reasonable expectations about him. I'm not saying he was the BPA or anything, not knowing the college guys well enough.
- I know Danilo since 2004, when he played in Treviso at the Reebok Eurocamp and was the youngest guy there. He did very well playing SG next to Roko Leni Ukic (Raptors 2nd round pick, who's 4 years older than him). He was skinny and maybe a bit shy, but the talent was there and scout were already very interested about him
- after that he played in minor leagues in Europe up to 2006 when he came to Milan. He had a very deferred role (he just turned 18!), like any young player in Europe, but at the end of the season he was supposed to be the starting SF in the italian NT (doesn't mean much, but it's not a bad thing...)
- very important, that season could only at stretches show his offensive talent, but unlike other prospects (Bargnani) he was VERY smart and mature on the court and was one heck of a defender, really physical and guarding anyone from the 1-4 positions. Any comment you might hear about a no defence/all offense player is trash
- he asked for a major role in the team last summer and got it, as the season progressed he was clearly the star of the team. Milan, btw, was no Cska so it's not one of the very best teams of Europe, but it's still good enough and I'm ready to think it'd be good enough to win the NCAA championship. Only 15-20 players of each class manage to stay in the NBA their whole careers, the rest of the top college guys are in Europe in their prime. That's the competition he was facing even in domestic leagues, there's no way it's weaker than CB
- his stats were much better in the Italian League not only because of an inferior competition (that's one thing) but also because Danilo's game progressed very strongly at the and of the season when his team was out of EL, as you might expect from a 19yo guy
- Danilo is a decent athlete, but has serious limitations about lateral quickness and explosiveness. He has the balance and body control, but don't expect him to create too much from a standing still position, that's not his game.
- his defence regressed over the last year, but there's no reason to think he can't pick it up again. Don't expect a specialist because of his limitation, but not even a liability
- his best asset on offense is his ability to get to the line. He was a very developed offensive game, he doesn't drive past people ala LeBron, of course, but has an incredible set of fakes and moves he uses to catch the defender out of balance
- he has a good outside shot, but I'm not expecting him to automatic from 3pt range, not immediately
- he has a great basketball IQ, for sure, put him a in structured offense and he'll find his role very easily. That's why I would have liked him more in LA or in Utah
- I don't know how really good he can be, but the only scenario in which he can really fail is imo if he's asked to JUST stand in the corner for the open 3 and be a defensive specialist, the situation that killed several european players
- he's no more of a project than any 19yo in the world. His body is not that undeveloped, and you can't find any guy his age tested at a higher level and with such a complete game
- D'Antoni has the task to find the way to use his talents, because an unstructured offense they might go wasted. He's not going to be a dominant scorer immediately nor a energy guy, so finding a niche for him might be tough at the beginning
- you haven't seen a young european player with such a huge role in Europe, in the NBA. So most of the comparison's I'm reading are foolish, the Darko one just made no sense

[GONYK]

Thank you very much for your insight

[siro]

Interesting, did have the ability to create his own shot in the Italian league on a consistent basis? or did his lateral quickness give him trouble in this area.

[Da_Mane_Man]

very nice post. thanks for the info. two parts were really interesting:

Only 15-20 players of each class manage to stay in the NBA their whole careers, the rest of the top college guys are in Europe in their prime. That's the competition he was facing even in domestic leagues, there's no way it's weaker than CB

is this something you read or is it just a guess? also,

you haven't seen a young european player with such a huge role in Europe, in the NBA. So most of the comparison's I'm reading are foolish, the Darko one just made no sense

all these other guys that come from europe weren't stars on their teams? i would have thought they were, but now that i think about it i guess it's mostly about potential so it could be that they are coming over here young and don't really get the chance to have a huge role on their European teams.

[siro]

very nice post. thanks for the info. two parts were really interesting:

Only 15-20 players of each class manage to stay in the NBA their whole careers, the rest of the top college guys are in Europe in their prime. That's the competition he was facing even in domestic leagues, there's no way it's weaker than CB

is this something you read or is it just a guess? also,

you haven't seen a young european player with such a huge role in Europe, in the NBA. So most of the comparison's I'm reading are foolish, the Darko one just made no sense

all these other guys that come from europe weren't stars on their teams? i would have thought they were, but now that i think about it i guess it's mostly about potential so it could be that they are coming over here young and don't really get the chance to have a huge role on their European teams.

All were based on potential, for example Niko due from Denver put up 6.6ppg, Darko put up like 11ppg as a role player, as did Bargnani. None were really stars, but more young rising stars that were role players with their teams. Teams just figured that since they were so young, they potentially could be stars someday in the NBA.

[CaptainFanchini]

Guys like Skita, Weiss, Korolev etc were merely benchwarmers in Europe and drafted for "potential" by NBA's GMs.
Darko did quite well in the serbian league, but that's probably the 6th or 7th league of Europe ... it's not Euroleague or italian/spanish/greek league.

Bargnani played well in Euro and italian leagues, but he was not a star; and in any case his first year in NBA has been all but bad, he was 2 times rookie of the month and 2nd rookie of the year ... people tend to forget that ...
He had just a bad 2nd year for various reasons, but nothing denies him to have a nice comeback this next seasons, even he's not so tough and fearless like Danilo.

[hoodie©]

Danilo Gallinari..

[Da_Mane_Man]

^^ who did you want?

[matchman]

Thanks for the insight from Italy, I think other than the player himself, I would choose to believe the words from a guy who really watch Italian basketball.

Of course, it's always the coach's job to utilize one's talent and the potential.




P.S. I just don't like a Chinese player to go to one of my most disliked team.

[hoodie©]

^^ who did you want?

Eric Gordon/Joe Alexander

[HighRyzer83]

The best thing I read is he has high IQ (which covers a lot of limitations) and that he is not a pushover defensively. I read before that he gets a lot of steals is this true?

Moreover, Please tell me he is nothing like Hedo or Peja, those comparisons make me sick to my gut!!

[Da_Mane_Man]

^^ who did you want?

Eric Gordon/Joe Alexander

joe alexander is ok but i don't think he has gallinari's potential. i admit, i haven't seen too much of him but he looks like he might just be just a decent nba player.

eric gordon - don't we already have about 3 of these on our roster? at this point, i'd much rather go with jamal crawford at the SG position rather than get a 6"3 rookie to come in and do the same or a worse job.

i think people forget too easily who we had playing the SF position for us last year. Q-BRICK people!!! gallinari is an instant upgrade at the position i think we had the most need at. i know you shouldn't draft for need, but i think that it just so happened to be that the BPA on Walsh's board was also the position we needed the most.

[Voodoochile]

- his defence regressed over the last year, but there's no reason to think he can't pick it up again. Don't expect a specialist because of his limitation, but not even a liability

Just a note: in the last season Danilo was asked to be the first offesnive option, so he had to manage the effort like most of NBA franchise players have to.
For example, last April Armani Jeans Milano had a match vs Varese, which was leaded by Delonte Holland (former DePaul player).
Holland poured 50 points over Milano, but in the last 90 seconds was taken by Gallinari who completely shut down him making his team win the match.
Danilo will not ever be Defensive Player of the Year, but I would bet that he won't be a defensive liability, too.

[Paeds]

thanks for the report

[Voodoochile]

very nice post. thanks for the info. two parts were really interesting:

all these other guys that come from europe weren't stars on their teams? i would have thought they were, but now that i think about it i guess it's mostly about potential so it could be that they are coming over here young and don't really get the chance to have a huge role on their European teams.

It's very rare to see a 20yr old kid having a star role on a top Euro team. In FIBA basketball, experience and refined skills are usually more effective than pure talent. Bargnani were Benetton's 3rd/4th offensive option the season before he was drafted and Benetton was a top 10 Euroleague team then.
Danilo was the star on a not-so-good team, not only for his skillset but mainly because he plays like a 27yr old veteran.

[knicks82385]

Still a terrible pick.

[magnumt]

The best thing I read is he has high IQ (which covers a lot of limitations) and that he is not a pushover defensively. I read before that he gets a lot of steals is this true?

Moreover, Please tell me he is nothing like Hedo or Peja, those comparisons make me sick to my gut!!

Yes, that was me who posted that in another Thread that bashed Dino'. He averaged 2 SPG to go along with his 17 PPG and 5 RPG (2nd leading Rebounder on his Team).

[Ryoga Hibiki]

very nice post. thanks for the info. two parts were really interesting:

Only 15-20 players of each class manage to stay in the NBA their whole careers, the rest of the top college guys are in Europe in their prime. That's the competition he was facing even in domestic leagues, there's no way it's weaker than CB

is this something you read or is it just a guess?

well, say there are 50 players drafted out american college basketball.
Can we agree they were stars at the NCAA level?
well, having the NBA roster spots for nomore than 300 of them, it means on average they have a NBA career 6 years long.
For the remaining times they'll be in Europe, assuming they're good enough!
So in Europe you can find a lot american players who might not be good enough for the NBA, but that were stars in college. And european roughly at their level, of course!
NCAA is not just made of future NBA stars!

all these other guys that come from europe weren't stars on their teams? i would have thought they were, but now that i think about it i guess it's mostly about potential so it could be that they are coming over here young and don't really get the chance to have a huge role on their European teams.

the only guy who was as proven as Danilo at 18/19 is Stojakovic, otherwhise you have to get back to Kukoc.
Dirk was a star, but playing in 2nd division in a much worse league. Parker was in France, Gasol was dominant but a late bloomer, he started at 21. Skita and Darko were projects. Bargnani really went out of the limb in his last year but he was one year older than what Danilo is now, and had a much more limited role. Belinelli achieved a lot at 17/18, but he didn't progress enough in the following years remaining basically a shooter out screens.

Btw Rubio is going to be even more proven than danilo, when he'll declare.

[Ryoga Hibiki]

Moreover, Please tell me he is nothing like Hedo or Peja, those comparisons make me sick to my gut!!

he's not the shooter Peja is, but wouldn't you be happy o have a player with Peja's skillset?
you might think he's weak mentally (something I don't think Danilo is, but we'll discover it in the next few years) but he's been an all NBAer and an all star!
Turkoglu is more similar, but I think Danilo is a better slasher To be tested at this level, of course.

[donald]

It's incredibly amazing to see how many posts about DG lack of defense, lack of rebound, lack of lateral foot-speed, only-shoot-player... I think that noone of those realgm people has ever seen him play a single minute of his game during last 2-3 years... it's so stupid to say opinion without informations....
This is the typical way to think of american people... it's only US and the rest of world doesn't matter...
Also about how Danilo is tall... Danilo 6'8 200lbs measurement was about 2 or 3 years ago, and now after workout they discover he's 6'10 and 220lbs, but in the rest of the world (but I think in US too) it's normal to grow-up from 15/16 yo to 18/19....
Noone speaks about Beasly measurament (for example)... before pre-draft camp 6'9... real 6'7....
Also about type of player Danilo is... sharp-shooter? like Van Horn? like Tim Thomas? But how can you be so stupid to judge a player without ever seen him play a game?....
He's all but not a sharp-shooter... is best quality, at the opposite, is to drive to the basket finishing with both hands and drawing foul... not shoot!!!!
WAKE-UP GUYS!!!!
In Italy we said "at first you have to see... then you can speak..." it means that if you want to tell something not stupid you MUST KEEP INFORMATION BEFORE...
Believe me, DG it's far the best pick at 6 for knicks... it's would be the best also at 4 and maybe at 3... Now you have a Turkoglu-type player already in your hands and a solid contributor for coach D'Antoni just next season...
If not, surely won't be worst than Isaia Thomas had made during last years... Or maybe it's better to have players like Q-Rich, Curry, Randolph, Chandler, Collins and so on???????

Bye