LAS VEGAS — Wilson Chandler’s contract extension could be just the beginning for the Nuggets. If they have their way, they’d like to open talks on an extension for Danilo Gallinari as well, according to a league source.

Gallinari is heading into the final year of his contract, which is scheduled to pay him $11.5 million. He’ll be an unrestricted free agent next summer.

Gallinari always has been viewed as an important piece of the Nuggets re-tooling — now rebuilding — effort, ever since he was traded to Denver from New York in 2011 in the Carmelo Anthony deal. When he’s been on the court he’s shown why. He averaged a career-high 16.2 points in 2012-13 before an anterior cruciate ligament injury, and two subsequent surgeries, set him back 19 months.

Gallinari found his stride late last season, his first since injuring his knee. He averaged 12.4 points on 40.1 percent shooting from the field and a healthy 35.5 percent from the 3-point line. His per-36 minutes stats last season are the eye-openers — an average of 18.5 points per 36 minutes to go along with 5.5 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.2 steals.

Gallinari’s play improved as the 2014-15 season wore on — going from 12.9 points per game in February to 17.8 in March and 22.3 in April. His full post-all star stats were 18.6 points and 4.8 rebounds per game, shooting 44.3 percent from the field and 40.4 percent from the 3-point line.

“I thought at the end, the second half of the season, is the way I wanted to finish, the way I wanted to play,” said Gallinari after the season. “I was happy with myself.”

Gallinari’s presence allows the Nuggets their greatest versatility. Down the stretch the Nuggets stretched the floor and exploited a lot of mismatches with him playing power forward. The Nuggets are a team in need to raise their shooting profile, and Gallinari helps them reach that goal.

Given the Nuggets’ current financial situation, over the cap, an extension would have to be structured to kick in at the start of the 2016-17 season, similar to what Kenneth Faried did a year ago. And that would be advantageous to Gallinari, who could negotiate a deal based on estimates of how the salary cap will rise, and it’s expected to make a huge jump. That is what New Orleans star Anthony Davis did with his extension, which begins with the 2016-17 season.

Gallinari is one of only two small forwards on the roster, so the Nuggets are thin at that area. And despite some injury worries — Gallo has played more than 60 games in just three of his six NBA seasons — he’s a player just hitting the prime of his career.

“I’m 26. I still have a lot to learn, a lot to improve,” Gallinari said. “The sky is the limit. You’ll always find me in the gym, working on my game. Looking forward to next season because I think I’m going to be better than the player I finished this season.”

Christopher Dempsey: cdempsey@denverpost.com or twitter.com/dempseypost