Sources: Clippers working on 3-way sign-and-trade to acquire Danilo Gallinari
— -- The LA Clippers are working toward a sign-and-trade agreement with free-agent forward Danilo Gallinari on a three-year, $65 million deal, league sources told ESPN.
The Clippers don't have the salary-cap space to sign Gallinari, but are progressing on acquiring him through a three-way trade with the Denver Nuggets and Atlanta Hawks, league sources said.
The Clippers will send Jamal Crawford, Diamond Stone and a future first-round pick -- possibly the 2018 pick recently acquired via? Houston?-- to the Hawks, league sources said. Denver is expected to receive draft compensation for facilitating the deal with Gallinari, who played the past six seasons for the Nuggets.
The proposed deal is poised to move the Clippers' payroll to $110.4 million in 2017-18, a salary figure based upon 10 players under guaranteed contracts. The Clippers will move into the financially punitive repeater tax if the team's salary rises over $119 million.
The Clippers sold Gallinari, 28, on a frontcourt that includes him and All-Stars Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan. Gallinari could've waited until Gordon Hayward made his decision, expected on Tuesday, and had the opportunity to sign with the Boston Celtics if Hayward passed on them. Nevertheless, Gallinari passed and moved in the past 24 hours toward a deal with the Clippers.
Los Angeles is trying to reboot its roster post- Chris Paul, and Gallinari is a floor-spacing shooter whom the Clippers have coveted for several years.
Atlanta is moving toward a complete rebuild and Crawford will likely be waived before the season, allowing him to become a free agent. Stone was a 2016 second-round pick out of Maryland.
Gallinari became expendable for the Nuggets once they agreed to a deal with Atlanta forward Paul Millsap.
ESPN's Brian Windhorst and Bobby Marks contributed to this report.
Related Stories
ABC News Live