According to The Vertical’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Denver Nuggets’ forward Danilo Gallinari will reportedly decline his $16.1 million player option for the final year of his contract and become an unrestricted free agent.

Gallinari joins a free agent class that includes Utah’s Gordon Hayward, Atlanta’s Paul Millsap and Clippers big man Blake Griffin.

Last year, Gallinari averaged 18.2 points per game and shot 38.9 person from beyond the arc, one of his better years shooting. One of the downfalls has been his health but he appeared in 63 games last year, the most he’s appeared in since the 2012-13 season.

With the decision to opt out, it gives Gallinari options. To either join a contender and compete for a championship, command a near-max contract or land a long-term max deal in Denver, a decision that he remains open to.

“As you guys know, its tough for me to leave Denver,” Gallinari told the Denver Post in April. “Its my city. I love the city. I have a house here. After my career is over, Denver is going to be my city. It’s very tough for me to leave, so we’ll see.”

If the Nuggets decide to get in the running for Gallinari, they’d have a leg up on the competition as they could offer him a five-year max contract worth more than $153 million before annual raises as other teams can only offer four-year deals somewhere around $123 million.

Denver general manager Tim Connelly has expressed a strong desire to also keep Gallinari in the city of Denver.

“I think its no secret we value Gallo, both as a player and as a person,” Connelly told Altitude sports in April. “He’s a guy that we value, he’s had a great year.”

The sixth-overall pick of the New York Knicks in the 2008 NBA draft, Gallinari came to Denver as part of the Carmelo Anthony trade in 2011 and be a highly sought-after player as teams look to add proven veterans to their teams.