Clippers close to acquiring Danilo Gallinari in three-team sign-and-trade deal with Nuggets, Hawks

When Chris Paul bolted for Houston, the general sentiment around the NBA was he slammed the franchise’s championship window on his way out.

But then the Clippers coaxed Blake Griffin to stay on a maximum contract, and on Monday night, the Clippers were close to another free agency win, finalizing a three-team sign-and-trade deal that would net Denver’s leading scorer last season, forward Danilo Gallinari.

According to reports, the Clippers were prepared to send out Jamal Crawford, Diamond Stone and a future first-round pick to absorb Gallinari in a three-team sign-and-trade with Atlanta and Denver. As part of the deal, Denver would land All-Star Paul Millsap, who agreed to a three-year, $90 million deal with the Nuggets on Thursday.

One source Monday evening described the deal as “close and almost final.”

The Clippers made Gallinari, who averaged 18.2 points in 63 games last season, their top priority after retaining Griffin. They also courted free agent wings Rudy Gay and Joe Ingles, among others.

Gallinari, 28, gives the Clippers the small forward they’ve long coveted, and helps balance a new-look lineup that now includes defensive-minded point guard Patrick Beverley. The deal meant saying goodbye to Crawford, who in five years with the Clippers averaged 15.3 points and twice was named NBA Sixth Man of the Year.

The deal required trading out salary because the Clippers would have otherwise only had an $8.4 million mid-level exception to spend.

The Clippers drafted Stone, 20, with the 40th pick in last year’s draft. The former University of Maryland star appeared in seven games as a rookie.

With Atlanta in rebuild mode, it seems likely Crawford will ask for a buyout and become an unexpected late addition to the free agent pool.

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