We’re now less than a month away from the 2008 NBA Draft and prospects from all over the world are preparing for the biggest night of their lives. The draft is one of those truly special nights that can make or break a GM’s career or change the complexion of a franchise for years to come. Ex-Toronto Raptors GM Rob Babcock paid the price for exposing Raptors fans to the truly unbearable Rafael Araujo era, while on the other hand, in Portland, Greg Oden and Brandon Roy have put an end to the Jailblazers era and ushered in a promising new one. So with that in mind it’s time to dig a bit deeper and take a closer look at one of this year’s more versatile and multi-talented prospects.

This year’s European “wunderkind” is Danilo Gallinari, a 19-year-old point-forward out of Italy, who looks to follow in the footsteps of fellow countryman, former number one pick Andrea Bargnani, and become the second Italian ever to be drafted in the top ten. This fits in line with the recent trend of teams using their lottery picks on high risk, high reward type players with hopes of finding the next Dirk Nowitzki. Unfortunately for most teams, they’re finding out the hard way they’re more likely to find the next Darko Milicic or Nikoloz Tskitishvili than the second coming of the Blonde Bomber.

That doesn’t seem to be deterring teams from taking a chance on the young Italian, as many scouts see Gallinari in the mould of Chicago Bulls great, Toni Kukoc. Although his natural position is small forward, Gallinari can play all five positions and has been praised for his maturity and high basketball I.Q. Only two inches shorter than Kukoc at 6’9’, Gallinari still has the versatility to guard forwards and centers while possessing the passing ability and court vision on offence to cause match up problems and wreak havoc on defenders.

While he’s not likely to light the league on fire with his scoring, Gallinari has a nice offensive repertoire to build off of. His ball handling skills allow him to be a dangerous threat to either drive to the basket or score off the dribble. He has a good midrange shot, even shooting 39% from beyond the arc this past season. Still, he needs to become a more consistent outside shooter to stretch defences in the NBA. You add all that up and you’ve got the leading scorer in the competitive Series A Italian League and a top prospect who has GM’s drooling over his potential.

The biggest knock on the kid is a concern about his below average quickness and explosiveness. With the athletes he’ll be facing at his position in the NBA, Gallinari’s lack of foot speed could definitely make him a liability on the defensive end if he doesn‘t improve. Being able to stay in front of his defender and keeping out of foul trouble will play a big part in his early success. Case in point is Raptor’s forward Andrea Bargnani. No one questions his offensive skill or shooting prowess, but Bargnani has found himself glued to the bench for large portions of his first two seasons because of his tendency to pick up early fouls and struggles in man to man defence. Gallinari will need to improve in that area if he wants to see consistent playing time his rookie season.

In the right system and setting, Gallinari could become a house hold name within a few years. Many of the mock drafts have him penciled in at the number six spot to the New York Knicks, which would be a great fit for both parties.

With new head coach Mike D’Antoni bringing over his run and gun philosophy from Phoenix, Gallinari fits in well with the quick paced, low turnover, fast break style of offence. If you look at D’Antoni’s last stop with the Suns, he had a very similar player in Boris Diaw. A tall, all around skilled player with a pass first mentality, Diaw had languished in the basketball wasteland known as Atlanta before being traded to the Suns. Diaw absolutely thrived in Phoenix’s high powered offence and went on to win the Most Improved Player Award and become a nightly triple double threat. Constantly creating problems on defence with his pin point passing, ability to draw big men away from the basket and wide array of post moves, Diaw, like Gallinari, is tailor-made to excel in D’Antoni’s offence. Even the 6’8’ Diaw, occasionally listed as a centre, would often backup Steve Nash as point guard. You can imagine Mike D’Antoni and new GM Donnie Walsh are eager to get their mitts on a player like Danilo Gallinari who has the same skill set as a Boris Diaw with seemingly more potential.

With individual team workouts and a Euro camp still to come, a lot can change and it‘s still too early to say where Gallinari ends up. While most signs point to Gallinari ending up in a Knicks jersey, if he falls past New York, don’t look for him to get by Milwaukee at the number eight spot.