Knicks rookie Danilo Gallinari won't be coming into training camp at full speed, according to a report from Newsday's Alan Hahn (via Posting and Toasting). Gallinari sat out most of summer league with a sore back ... that is still bothering him, two months later. It knocked him out of play with the Italian national team in this month's qualifiers for Eurobasket '09.Hahn says Gallinari just arrived to NYC this week. Camp begins in two weeks.
Of course, the concept of the injured rookie isn't new to the NBA, what with top-15 picks Greg Oden, Spencer Hawes and Rodney Stuckey all having had surgery before last season's opening tip. In comparison, back pain seems like a non-issue. Of course, back pain that has stuck around since July, dropping him from two competitions of middling import. And if I may get a bit philosophical, more than any other team the Knicks could use a fierce start, even if it means little in the end. The D'Antoni name can't mend wounds on its own.
