Chicago Bulls are now the favorites to land Danilo Gallinari

Thursday night, the Chicago Bulls began the NBA free agency period by bringing in veteran big man Andre Drummond, filling a huge need for them off the bench.

While Drummond comes in as one of the best rebounders in the game, the Bulls’ next priority is to find scoring and three-point shooting off the bench. The way it’s looking, that could happen very soon.

K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports tweeted that the Bulls are one of the finalists for former Atlanta Hawks forward Danilo Gallinari.

Furthermore, some sources are now saying that Chicago is the favorite to land Gallinari.

If the Chicago Bulls can add Danilo Gallinari, then their free agency quest is already a success.

Gallinari hit free agency by way of the San Antonio Spurs after he was traded in the deal where Atlanta acquired All Star guard Dejounte Murray. Immediately following the trade, the Spurs waived Gallinari, allowing him to find a home of his choice.

Johnson’s report included the Boston Celtics as another favorite for Gallinari. However, the Celtics were only offering one year according to Johnson, and that’s what makes the Bulls’ deal more appealing.

The 33-year-old Gallinari has been one of the best three-point shooters in the league for years now, and adding his scoring ability gives this Bulls bench exactly what they have been lacking.

Guys like Javonte Green, Derrick Jones Jr. and Troy Brown Jr. weren’t exactly known for their scoring. But, Gallinari is a guy who can come in off the bench and score in bunches if need be.

If this deal happens, the Bulls essentially replace Tony Bradley’s minutes with Drummond’s and make Gallinari the first man up for Patrick Williams. The two of them will compliment each other well, too, being that Drummond is more of the rebounder and rim protector and Gallinari can score.

Beyond these two guys, the next order of business is to finalize the contract extension for Zach LaVine, who wasn’t going to sign right away Thursday night. But, he appears to want to enjoy the process. Most reports have believed that LaVine will end up back in Chicago, though.

Re-signing LaVine while adding two excellent veterans like Drummond and Gallinari make this Bulls team even better than it was last year. Now, fans will just be hoping to see a healthy squad come training camp. If this roster is healthy, then surely the Bulls can go further than the first round next season.