Danilo Gallinari is an Italian professional basketball player for the Atlanta Hawks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). 

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After spending his first four years as a professional in his native Italy, Gallinari was drafted sixth overall in the 2008 NBA draft by the New York Knicks. 

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 He played with the Knicks for two and a half seasons before being traded to the Denver Nuggets in 2011. In 2017, he was acquired by the Clippers. His nickname is Gallo, which is Italian for "rooster," but is an abbreviation of his last name.

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During Game 7 of the 2021 Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Philadelphia 76ers, Gallinari came up in the final minute with a key steal from Joel Embiid and a dunk, extending Atlanta's lead to six, as the Hawks reached their first Eastern Conference Final since 2015 and only their second since moving to Atlanta in 1968.

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The San Antonio Spurs, who acquired Gallinari in a trade with the Atlanta Hawks this week, are reportedly expected to waive Gallinari. 

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"After officially completing trade with Hawks today, the Spurs are expected to waive F Danilo Gallinari, sources tell ESPN. As a free agent, Gallinari will be able to choose among contenders in both conferences," said ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski. 

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The 14-year veteran found himself as a member of the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday afternoon thanks to the blockbuster Dejounte Murray deal. In line to make $21.4 million in the final year of his current contract, the expectation is for the rebuilding Spurs to buy him out and allow him to enter unrestricted free agency.

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For Johnson to report the Bulls have interest doesn’t come as a major surprise. Not only does Gallinari have prior experience with both Arturas Karnisovas (w/ Nuggets from 2011-17) and Billy Donovan (with OKC in 2019-20), but he checks a lot of the boxes the Bulls are looking for this offseason.

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Gallinari has built a career around his reliable 3-point shot. The big man has knocked down 38.2 percent of his long-range attempts over the course of his career, and he’s shot upward of 40.0 percent over his last four seasons combined. 

The six-foot-ten forward could also provide the Bulls with another active presence on the glass. While he isn’t the most ferocious rebounder, he did average roughly 5.0 boards during his 25.3 minutes per game last season.

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