Danilo Gallinari says the biggest regret of his career was turning down a two-year offer from the LA Clippers and taking a one-year veteran minimum deal with the Milwaukee Bucks instead.
That choice, at the time, made sense. The Bucks had a championship-level roster built around Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Gallinari went there after the Detroit Pistons waived him. But in an interview with “HoopsHype,” he made it clear that, looking back, he wishes he had chosen differently.
The Clippers, according to Gallinari, were the team that first came with the longer deal. He said LA approached him with a two-year offer, but he opted for Milwaukee’s shorter commitment. Now, he views that as the biggest regret of his career.
For the Clippers, it’s an easy one to second-guess too.
LA’s 2023-24 season was its lone year with the James Harden, Paul George, and Kawhi Leonard big-three experiment, and it ended with a seven-game first-round loss to the Dallas Mavericks. The offense could bog down, and the team often looked a step slow when the pressure climbed.
Gallinari would not have been a star at that stage of his career, but that was never the point. He still could stretch the floor, help on the glass, and bring the kind of basketball IQ that smooths out messy playoff stretches. His experience would have mattered in the locker room as well, especially when the Clippers were dealing with adversity.
The added wrinkle was familiarity. Gallinari already knew the system, which is part of why the front office wanted him back on a two-year deal in the first place.
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Unlike an NBA probe, a federal investigation brings a different level of reach, with the government able to compel evidence and testimony in ways the league cannot. It also means the consequences could stretch well beyond fines or public embarrassment if the Clippers do not cooperate, making this a story with legal and organizational implications that could linger well into the season. [Read more 🡒]
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The bigger concern, as Joey Linn noted, is how that pressure can warp decision-making. The Clippers have already taken major swings in pursuit of a breakthrough, including the moves for Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, and the warning here is that an inferiority complex can lead a front office into territory it might not otherwise consider. For a team still trying to prove it can stand on its own in its own market, that is a problem with real consequences. [Read more 🡒]