The Denver Nuggets have not had too many positive headlines coming from their franchise since losing to the Golden State Warriors in the first round of the playoffs, as George Karl has exited as head coach and general manager Masai Ujiri has moved onto the Toronto Raptors, but finally some positive news, as star Danilo Gallinari is expected to return sooner than expected and that could be good for a big trade.
According to Bleacher Report, the Nuggets and Timberwolves could make a trade, as Kevin Love and Derrick Williams is proposed to go for Danilo Gallinari, JaVale McGee and Evan Fournier. According to ESPN.com, Gallinari may be able to get back on the court sooner than the team anticipated, as he revealed over the weekend that he did not suffer an ACL tear in his knee as expected and that he had arthroscopic surgery that could get him back by December. Gallinari posted a video on his Facebook page that his timetable will be different now that the diagnosis is not an ACL tear as it was anticipated and the injury was fully revealed when doctors saw that it was only partially torn and not fully torn.
The team is also dealing with Iguodala opting out, but that doesn't mean he won't come back to the team, as he could just be looking for a better deal. The team also could go after someone like David West or Monta Ellis, as well as bringing back JR Smith or adding Kyle Korver, JJ Reddick or even Nate Robinson.
Gallinari was originally hurt in April for the Nuggets against Dallas and after the injury it was expected that he could miss up to half of next season, but now there is a good chance he will just miss the first couple months a maybe a bit more. Team president Josh Kroenke has been making tough decisions all offseason while dealing with Karl and now both sides have been in the media describing the decision making process. Karl has defended his position and the team felt it was in the best interests of the franchise to move on with a new head coach, especially if the team was going to get off to a slow start without Gallinari.
The Nuggets will have a brand new look next season as Ujiri and Karl are gone and after winning a franchise record 57 games, the team now will have to recover without the executive of the year. The team had the best home record in the league, but after losing to the Warriors in the playoffs in a big upset, there were big changes ahead for the franchise. The team will have a new coach next season and with Andre Iguodala opting out, they will have to reload with some new stars to keep up their success in the playoffs.