Danilo Gallinari thinks he's a max player, Nuggets are his "first option" in free agency

In an interview with La Gazzetta dello Sport, Nuggets’ forward Danilo Gallinari says Denver is his “first option” once free agency opens July 1 at 12:01 a.m. ET and that one of the first meetings he’ll take will be with the Nuggets.

Here’s the full text of the interview, first in Italian, then translated into English:

Il mio obiettivo è rimanere a Denver, uno dei primi incontri lo avrò con loro. Hanno la priorità e sono la mia prima opzione. Sì, mi sento un giocatore da massimo salariale ma al momento il mercato dice altro e non riceverò proposte di quel tipo. Per me conta di più il progetto che i soldi. Super team come Cleveland o Golden State non hanno né budget né spazio a livello di gioco per me. Ma ci sono tante ottime squadre in giro.

My goal is to stay in Denver, one of the first meetings I’ll have with them. They have priority and are my first option. Yes, I feel (like I’m) a player for maximum wage but at the moment the market says I’m not and I will not receive proposals of that type. For me, it matters more about the team than the money. Super teams like Cleveland or Golden State have neither budget nor game level space for me. But there are so many great teams around.

This is a reversal from Gallinari’s statement earlier this week that said the Nuggets were not his first choice when free agency was set to open but what the 28-year-old has been consistent with throughout this process is that his decision will not come down to dollars.

USA Today’s Sam Amick is reporting that there are nine teams currently showing interest in Gallinari. The Nuggets, along with the Sacramento Kings are included in that group along with a few contenders.

Gallinari also thinks he deserves a max contract — something he won’t get on the open market but Nuggets’ color commentator Scott Hastings has said on Denver radio over the past month that the swingman’s camp is searching for a contract in the $20-25 million range.

Gallinari will reportedly decline his $16.1 million player option for the 2017-18 season on Friday and enter unrestricted free agency for the first time in his career. The eight-year veteran averaged 18.2 points and 5.2 rebounds last season while posting some of the most efficient shooting numbers of his career.

This story was updated to reflect a recent report from USA Today.