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LA Clippers forward Danilo Gallinari has just confirmed his intention to skip his country's upcoming FIBA qualifiers next month. With this recent development, the Italian national basketball team will need to do without the 6-foot-10 sharpshooter as they compete in the qualifiers for the 2019 FIBA World Cup.
Gallinari recently released an official statement saying that in line with his commitments to the Clippers, he has decided to stay in the United States to prepare himself for the upcoming season.
#Clippers Danilo Gallinari decided not to play with Italy MNT in their upcoming #FIBA qualifying games with Poland and Hungary next month.
Here’s why#NBA pic.twitter.com/zfYRl9gyd0— Davide Chinellato (@dchinellato) August 22, 2018
Italy finished the first round of the European Qualifiers with a 4-2 record, which will be carried over to the next round. They are scheduled to face Poland and Hungary in September in what is considered a tightly-contested group. The team will need to contend without the services of Gallinari.
The 30-year-old intends to use the remaining weeks of the summer to prepare his body for the rigorous season ahead. This is probably a good idea on the part of Gallinari and his camp, as his season debut season with the Clippers last season left much to be desired.
After arriving in L.A. last summer via a three-team trade that involved the Denver Nuggets and the Atlanta Hawks, Gallinari was able to suit up in only 21 games for the Clippers last season. Several injuries including a glute tear and a broken hand caused him to miss extended time, but he was productive when available with a nightly output of 15.3 points, 1.7 three-pointers, 4.8 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 0.6 steals, and 0.5 blocks in 32.0 minutes per contest.
There is a new era unfolding in L.A., and Gallinari hopes to establish himself as one of the cornerstones of a revamped Clippers team.
