Danilo Gallinari’s career-best season a tough Knicks reminder

Carmelo Anthony resurfaced as a spectator at Dwyane Wade’s farewell game Wednesday night in Brooklyn, but the career of the key player the Knicks traded for him nine years ago suddenly is going stronger than ever.

Oft-injured Danilo Gallinari was one of the main reasons the Los Angeles Clippers seized the eighth playoff seed in the Western Conference this season, averaging career bests of 19.8 points and 6.1 rebounds per game in 68 appearances, his most since the 2012-13 season with Denver.

“If they forget about me, they either are stupid or they have memory problems,” Gallinari told the Los Angeles Times.

Gallinari, the sixth overall pick by the Knicks out of Italy in 2008, played 2 1/2 seasons in New York before he was shipped out as part of the package of four players and three draft picks dealt to Denver in the 2010 blockbuster for Anthony, Chauncey Billups and three others.

Gallinari was a productive player for the Nuggets when healthy, but he sat out the entire 2013-14 season with a torn ACL and also missed extended time with back and gluteal injuries.

Tobias Harris was traded to Philadelphia in February, but Gallinari and Sixth Man of the Year frontrunner Lou Williams led Doc Rivers’ team to a 48-34 record and a first-round matchup with top-seeded Golden State in the West.

“My opinion of (Gallinari) hasn’t changed since the first day I saw him and we drafted him in New York,” said current Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni, who coached the Knicks at the start of Gallinari’s NBA career. “He’s a great player. And if he stays healthy, everyone will see it more.”

The 6-10 forward, who was dealt to the Clippers before the 2017-18 season, has one year remaining on his contract at $22.6 million.

“I feel great about this franchise, about this team,” the 30-year-old Gallinari said. “I don’t know what’s in their plans. I’m just a spectator. I have another year on my contract next year. If I can be a part of this team for a long time, that’s my goal. That’s my dream.”