Knicks Knotes

Very nice question, thanks for sending! I’ve actually asked myself that a few times since the trade went down.

It’s going to depend on a few things:

1. Gallinari’s willingness to come back to New York - There was an article in Newsday that came out right after the trade went down back in February. It basically said that the first person Gallo called after he was traded was former Mets GM Omar Minaya. Minaya’s last quote in the article was, “I think when it’s all said and done, we’re going to see him back in New York someday.” So as for Gallo willingness to come back to New York, I think it’s safe to say that he’d be happy to come back here.
2. Gallinari’s willingness to stay in Denver - where the Newsday article falters a little is that it’s a players reaction right after a trade. Emotions are running high at that point, so you can’t really put too much weight into it. If Gallo enjoys some success in Denver, who’s to say that he wouldn’t consider resigning with them? I know Denver is going to do everything possible to keep him since he was the biggest part of trade for them.
3. Money - Gallo’s contract runs through the 2012/2013 season. At that point, we have no idea what the Knicks roster will look like (we only have Carmelo and Amar’e committed that far out). So the big question is, will we have any money to offer Gallo if he becomes a free agent? Considering he’ll make about $5.5 million in the last year of his contract, you can expect his agent to seek a deal much higher than that per year.

I would LOVE to have Gallo back in New York, but the odds of him returning are pretty slim. I’m going to put it at 25%. We should probably hope for his return probably toward the latter end of his career when at that point it won’t be about the money.