ITA - Milan the only option for Gallinari

MILAN (Lega A/NBA) - If getting two-time EuroBasket champion coach Sergio Scariolo wasn't enough, Italian side Emporio Armani pulled off another great off-season move by bringing back one of the best players in the club's history.

Danilo Gallinari signed a deal with Olimpia and will stay in Milan until the NBA lockout ends.

Gallinari, who averaged 15.6 points per game last season with the New York Knicks and the Denver Nuggets, decided to commit to Milan's new deal, as the club owned by world famous fashion stylist Giorgio Armani looks to end a 15-year wait for the Italian title.

“Until a month ago, the comeback to Milan looked impossible,” said the 23-year old, who played for Armani Jeans from 2006 to 2008, in his only two Serie A seasons before heading off to the NBA.

“But Milan was my only option, it's the team that I had some unforgettable memories with”.

And conversely Gallo was Milan's only option: “He's the only player we considered for a part-time deal,” said coach Scariolo.

Gallinari is under contract with the Nuggets until 2012 (he was expected to earn $4,19 million for the 2011-12 season) and the team could then extend him a qualifying offer for a further season.

But with the NBA's activities stopped by the lockout, in line with the agreement betweeen FIBA and the NBA, players under contract in the NBA can play in Europe until the lockout ends, at which time they will immediately return to the USA.

“I'm looking forward to playing for a very competitive team and for a very improved organisation," Gallinari said.

"And I'm eager to know coach Sergio Scariolo, he's a true winner and the Spanish national team was amazing. We'll talk together very soon."

Gallinari and Emporio Armani will head to Spain on Tursday, where the team will hold a brief training camp in order to introduce Gallinari, coach Scariolo and the other newcomers coming from EuroBasket, Greece's Antonis Fotsis and Ioannis Bouroussis.

“My introduction into the team will be smooth," said Gallinari.

"I will accept any kind of role. And I'm curious to see Euroleague level of competition, as several teams signed NBA players."

EA7 is in a very tough Euroleague group which features a number of NBA players such as Jordan Farmar (Maccabi Tel Aviv), Rudy Fernandez (Real Madrid), Ersan Ilyasova (Anadolu Efes) and Nikola Pekovic (Partizan Belgrade).

Gallinari's technical transition from NBA to Europe will be easier, as he learned a lot from his first experience at EuroBasket, where he played with the Italian team that failed to reach the second round.

“I had to adjust to a different style of officiating, and I had to make some different choices, using more frequently my shooting skills," he said.

FIBA