Thunder fans were giddy when Danilo Gallinari’s name was announced. The NBA trade deadline was 29 hours in the rearview mirror and the sharpshooting forward was still launching jumpers in Oklahoma City.
A day earlier, Miami appeared poised to land Gallinari.
“I like Gallo,” Heat president Pat Riley told reporters Friday. “And I think he would have fit in here really well, but it didn’t work out. Somewhere you have to sort of draw a line in the sand for your team.”
That line, drawn in the sand of South Beach, kept the Thunder’s roster intact.