EA7 Olimpia Milano 2016-2017

[Olimpia15]

The team is almost complete roster will be:

Pg: kalnietis, hickman ( not official yet ), cinciarini
Sg: simon, Dragic, fontecchio
Sf: gentile, Sanders, Abass
Pf: macvan, pascolo
C: Raduljica, mclean

The changes from the previous season will be hickman for lafayette, Dragic for jenkins, Raduljica for batista, with the additions of pascolo ( eurocup 1st team 2015 ) and fontecchio Abass Who are two of the best italian young players

In the end i think that we will be a stronger team this year, but i have some doubts: the lack of pure 3pt's shooters (probably only simon) and also there is just one pure center, meanwhile we have a lot of possibilities in the small positions and the opportunity to be a good fastbreak team with a lot of players Who enjoy to run a lot (kalnietis,Dragic,gentile,Sanders,mclean)

What do you think about Olimpia, do we have the opportunity to Reach the playoff in your opinion?

[AmonRA]

hard to say from this distance, but from my angle, more no than yes..

why you cut Batista? he had a good season at least to say..
also Dragic is very similar type of player like Gentile, he wants ball in has hands..
if they make good chemistry, then everything is possible, but that is one of hardest things in bb, we will see..

[Olimpia15]

Batista had an expensive contract because we took him only in march of i rembember well but i liked him a lot, i agreewith you the most importante goal of repesa would be to find good chemistry in particular between simon,Dragic, gentile and Sanders.

[CoachZ]

I see issues with creation, since none of the guards play for others. Gentile, Dragic love the iso, Kalnietis is transition, D and iso as well. The only guy who does it for others is Simon, so that is an issue.

In terms of frontcourt there are issues with a more skilled-stretch options at PF and C, which you don't have. This limits the frontcourt (and team in general), since with good zone defense a lot of things can be neutralized vs Milano. So those are main issues that I have with the team and making it to Top 8. Players you added are not bad players, just the overall composition of the team might have a issue to be flexible and challenge the top teams.

[Olimpia15]

Thank you for your analysis, i agree with a lot of thinks, for the stretch c we offered a contract to bargnani but he asked a ridicoulous amount of money for the player he is now (2mln),i think the only piace in which he can play now is china

[Jon_Koncak]

my deep analysis..This is a shit team and poor Giorgio wasting his money again.Macvan and Radjulica?Best rim protection since Ben and Rasheed Wallace(sarcasm)..Kalnietis is a fraud who plays well only for Lietuva NT on september while stealing club's money during winter.Hickman,yeah what a great idea to invest on a 30+ american coming off a ruptured achilles who will propably never recover.Milano's obsession with signing other team's mediocre rejects is hillarious..You;d have thought they'd have learned a thing or two by now but no..This team willl be out of contention by 10th round of new Jordi Cup..

[Olimpia15]

I think that we take other's teams rejects not only for obsession but also because of budget limits, first goal is every year the national league for sure and kalnietis played good playoffs in the last season, rim protection will be a problem, probably our D will be a strong pressure in the ball with small players and also a lot of zone

[Jon_Koncak]

I think that we take other's teams rejects not only for obsession but also because of budget limits, first goal is every year the national league for sure and kalnietis played good playoffs in the last season, rim protection will be a problem, probably our D will be a strong pressure in the ball with small players and also a lot of zone

use scoutinng better,find some younger hungry players,take risks..signing washed up players like Radjulica,Hickman or Lafayette is a recipe for disaster.

[Olimpia15]

use scoutinng better,find some younger hungry players,take risks..signing washed up players like Radjulica,Hickman or Lafayette is a recipe for disaster.

Yes this is a complain that we usually do to our general manager, last year we saw finaly some good addiction in this way like Sanders and mclean and hopefully players like pascolo Abass and fontecchio can became good rotation players

[theng]

Hi Milano fans,
I'm a fan of Maccabi and I wondered if you're interested to trade Hickman and Kalneitis for Goudelock and Mekel.
I think it's a win-win :-)

[radallo]

Hi Milano fans,
I'm a fan of Maccabi and I wondered if you're interested to trade Hickman and Kalneitis for Goudelock and Mekel.
I think it's a win-win :-)

You should have tried a weems/gentile trade.. but too late.

[Jon_Koncak]

my deep analysis..This is a shit team and poor Giorgio wasting his money again.Macvan and Radjulica?Best rim protection since Ben and Rasheed Wallace(sarcasm)..Kalnietis is a fraud who plays well only for Lietuva NT on september while stealing club's money during winter.Hickman,yeah what a great idea to invest on a 30+ american coming off a ruptured achilles who will propably never recover.Milano's obsession with signing other team's mediocre rejects is hillarious..You;d have thought they'd have learned a thing or two by now but no..This team willl be out of contention by 10th round of new Jordi Cup..

i was so right..as usual..not that it was hard to see that this was gonna be anoterh train wreck

[CoachZ]

I promised this bit on EA7 to fellow Yagmur fan, Jazz

Basically, this roster is just terribly put together. They can't be good defensively, since they have holes in both lineups in terms of defensive talent. They can't be a standard half-court team since collectively outside of Simon, noone can create for the others and run successful half-court sets. They can't be a Mike D'Anthony type of run'n'gun team, since they have a roster with Raduljica, Macvan, Pascolo that can't really play in that system. So basically what you get is a team that runs a looooot of ISO sets for a number of ball-hog type of players such as Sanders, Hickman, Dragic, Kalnietis. They try to push tempo as well, but running ISO sets at tempo always puts you in a huge hole vs organized defenses. You become a turnover machine, you give up a lot of transition. Basically, if you don't have a lights-out shooting nights, it's hard to win games. So a few things I think:

- Repesa has to be gone. I don't think he holds a position of authority in that lockeroom and that is a big issue. At the same time, he didn't really adopt that well to post 2010 basketball in Europe. I really liked his work with Cibona and Tofas in late 90's early 00's. He had a great run at Fortitudo/Skipper. Since then, his coaching style hasn't really adjusted that well. He was given the keys to Cedevita and good financial backing and still failed to dethrone Partizan and later Zvezda.

- EA7 will always be a fancy environment and a club that wants to play fast paced attractive basketball. The management obviously has this idea of a team that will fill the stands and be able to outscore people. I don't think that a blue-collar tough mentality will ever work in Milano, so this has to be a finesse team but a properly run one that has a clear idea how to win and run offense/defense in such system. People I would approach to run the team would be Trinchieri, but there is an issue with this. I don't see him as a real lockeroom presence. Another guy that could be a great fit is a branch off from Scariolo, Ibon Navarro. He is in Manresa, and I am sure he would love a step up. He is a young coach that has a great future. Get him on a discount now and give him resources. He could be a great fit. Luis Casimiro of Gran Canaria could also be a good pick. They could run a modern, up tempo offense, spread the court and run people out of the gym.

- Best thing that happened to them is Gentile leaving

Because most of the up-tempo teams that are actually successful and consistent are based on people who like to share the ball and move it around, then the roster issues with ball-centric players has to be resolved. So here is what I would keep:

PG Kalnietis (to be a second PG)
SG Sanders
SG/SF Simon, Dragic
SF Abass (as a prospect)
PF Pascolo (as second PF), Fontecchio (as a 3rd guy)
PF/C Machvan
C Noone

Basically, I would add something like this:

PG - A scoring PG that plays at a very frantic pace, BUT he has to be able to create. He doesn't need to be a lights out defender or anything such, but he needs to keep people honest. Wannamaker is an ideal fit. A similar player can be added. This PG doesn't need to be the star of this team, but he needs to be the one running the show at a fast pace and running people out of the gym.
SF/PF - An athletic rebound/defense/transition monster that will harass all the forwards of the opponents and get first in the transition, play above rim. Ideal fit is a guy like Honeycutt. He doesn't need to be a great shooter, but if he can stretch a bit, that is a huge plus. He needs to be a lean athlete that can take heavy minutes and adapt to different lineups (SF in a traditional lineup, or PF in small ball). Off the ball worker.
C - Think a strong, athlete that will clean up the boards and lock down the paint. He needs to be able to move in transition, and take 1-on-1 the big men of traditional half-court teams. Ideally, he is a Dunston type. He doesn't need to be a refined player, since he will be a utility center, whose minutes will depend on lineups and matchups. High energy/High hustle guy that will intimidate in transition and keep the traditional bigs out of scoring range. He has to be able to be a disruptor on PnR defense and offense.

That will be the key 3 adds and then a system can be implemented to take advantage of the matchups. Some lineups could be:

Wanamaker-type/Sanders/Honeycut-type/Macvan/Dunston-type - For traditional half-court opponents with bigs
Wanamaker-type/Sanders/Dragic/Honeycutt-type/Macvan - for small-ball madness
Kalnietis/Dragic/Simon/Pasolo/Macvan - for second unit that will keep running at a high pace and score.

The key will be to not have 3 or more ball dominant players on the floor at the same time. So Wana-type + Sander and Kalnietis+Dragic should be in different lineups. Use Simon as a joker, decrease his minutes due to age and make him more efficient. Macvan as a false 5 is a great fit, but also keep him in game on shorter shifts. He really drops of with conditioning. Something like that could have 3-4 high IQ players and passers such as Wana-type, Simon, Macvan, Pascolo + 3 or 4 iso, transition tempo guys like Sanders, Dragic, Honeycutt etc.

That would make them a play-off contender, within their current budget and a deep roster to withstand the tempo. With a good chemistry and coaching they can make a splash.

[Jazz]

Thanks for this Coach! An incredibly well considered and detailed reply. And also for finding this Milano thread again.

It's really interesting that you don't propose a massive upheaval of the roster. And when you consider that Raduljica, Hickman and McLean would be three of the biggest contracts, these changes would be affordable.

My own philosophy is pure run'n'gun, but I accept that compromises need to be made.

A few questions:
Are you not a fan of McLean or did you leave him out just because he wouldn't fit this system/ profile of bigs you're looking for?
Why didn't Simon leave Croatia earlier in his career? (Not until he was 27 and even then it was Repesa that took him to Malaga.) A lot of less talented players leave a lot sooner.
About Gentile, what has happened to him the last couple of years? Surely he can't be "confirmo boiletto" at 24? Ego? Mentality? Conditioning? All the above??
What team would you see Hickman on next season? He still shows flashes of his pre- Fenerbahce self, but like you say, he isn't fitted to this system and may have lost something after his achilles injury or Obradovic.

Also:

People I would approach to run the team would be Trinchieri, but there is an issue with this. I don't see him as a real lockeroom presence.

I sensed from your post in the Maccabi thread that in order to sort out underachieving teams you really like a coach with some machismo.

[CoachZ]

Thanks for this Coach! An incredibly well considered and detailed reply. And also for finding this Milano thread again.

It's really interesting that you don't propose a massive upheaval of the roster. And when you consider that Raduljica, Hickman and McLean would be three of the biggest contracts, these changes would be affordable.

My own philosophy is pure run'n'gun, but I accept that compromises need to be made.

A few questions:
Are you not a fan of McLean or did you leave him out just because he wouldn't fit this system/ profile of bigs you're looking for?
Why didn't Simon leave Croatia earlier in his career? (Not until he was 27 and even then it was Repesa that took him to Malaga.) A lot of less talented players leave a lot sooner.
About Gentile, what has happened to him the last couple of years? Surely he can't be "confirmo boiletto" at 24? Ego? Mentality? Conditioning? All the above??
What team would you see Hickman on next season? He still shows flashes of his pre- Fenerbahce self, but like you say, he isn't fitted to this system and may have lost something after his achilles injury or Obradovic.

Also:

I sensed from your post in the Maccabi thread that in order to sort out underachieving teams you really like a coach with some machismo.

McLean is a guy that is athletic and not necessarily a bad player. Just a bad fit for a fast tempo. Try to watch some of the games with him, when he touches the ball tempo stops. He doesn't really use the space well, he would kills spacing/ball movement. He likes to fight in the paint and is not necessarily a player that will be a monster on the defensive end of a fast paced game. He also has issues with discipline. I think he can fit in another type of system.

Simon is one of my favorite players. He does suffer from some black hole moments in games though, but overall his high IQ play and skillset can be used in any system. I think he had a bit of unorthodox road to stardom, since he spent a lot of time in Zagreb, where the team had high hopes and ambitions only to lose them. That might've kept him too long in that environment. Maybe some of the Croatian friends here can give a better insight.

Gentile had a rotten upbringing in terms of basketball. He is supremely talented and from everywhere I read, he really works hard on his craft. On the other hand, he has been spoiled in terms of attention and expectations. His pedigree at such a young age, forced people to name him the savior of Italian basketball. That is terrible pressure for such a player. He needed to be in a veteran team with strong chemistry and lockeroom discipline and learn how to behave. Winning and losing are both contagious. He is 24, but compared to the expectations and money he has made, he has lost so much now. He is branded a loser. He takes too much responsibility on his shoulders and tries to carry it. It bites him in the ass, and he ends up being selfish and destructive. That mentally can fuck you up as well, you start thinking everybody is out to get you etc. He is not a lone case, we have seen this everywhere. I don't think, his skillset has declined or he cannot improve it even more, but he needs to fix his head. He never had a HARD LANDING. For example to be cut and noone wants him. That kind of thing might work. And land him in a smaller team with lower ambitions, that can show him the path to redemption. But knowing his path so far, he is NBA bound, to be a role player for a non-contender...

Hickman is not necessarily a bad player. Just you don't want him running your offense in the EL and being the focus. Put him on a second unit of a strong lockeroom team that needs scoring off the bench and he will produce easily.

Regarding coaching. I am not a fan of macho type coaches, just guys that have a strong backbone and presence. For example I hate the berating and violent approach of Obradovic, Ivkovic often, Vujosevic etc. When I talk about fixing an underachieving team, it's more about authority, responsibility and a clear command structure. He can be a quite guy, but he cuts you after you keep fucking up. He needs to bench you in games if you are not running the scheme correctly. That kind of presence is necessary to right the ship. Especially when you run a high tempo offense. People think it's chaos and more relaxed, this is absolutely not true. High tempo offenses actually have clear set of rules and ways to run it. It requires extreme discipline. If you don't respect it, you end up in a big hole as quickly as you will build a big lead.