Brandon Davies' transfer grade: a statement move from Armani Exchange / News - Basketnews.com

Credit: ZUMA Press Wire-SCANPIX Credit ZUMA Press Wire-SCANPIX

AX Armani Exchange Milan officially announced the signing of Brandon Davies, one of their main offseason moves so far. The 30-year-old big man signed a two-year deal and will reinforce Ettore Messina's frontcourt.

Points this season

44%72,9Points made:72,9Accuracy:44,3%Place in standings:18Record max:89Record min:48Best scorer:Shavon ShieldsTeamEuroLeagueStatisticsSchedule

On this occasion, BasketNews evaluates by giving a grade from A (being the best) to F (the worst) Davies' transfer to the Italian powerhouse and discusses whether it's a good and calculated signing for Armani Exchange.

Replacing Tarczewski

The first thing to notice is that on Milan's chessboard, Davies will replace Kaleb Tarczweski.

His minutes, especially in EuroLeague, were often limited, and his contribution wasn't a key factor for the Italian team. Replacing Tarczewski with a player of Davies' level is an absolute win for Milan.

The former Philadelphia 76ers big man is one of the best players in his role in Europe. He's probably in the best moment of his career and has already played in Italy, wearing the colors of Pallacanestro Varese.

Davies is also a much more versatile player than Tarczewski, both offensively and defensively.

The former Barcelona player can knock it from downtown, stretching the floor offensively, while defensively, he's fit to play the switch-all system favored by Messina. For the first time in the past few years, Milan will be able to start the season with two elite players at the center position, also giving some deserved rest to Kyle Hines.

Statement move

It's clear that on the court, Milan made a huge upgrade in signing Davies to replace Tarczewski. But this move is not only a great win on the court, but it also sends a strong message.

Milan was able to lure away a player from Barcelona, a direct rival in EuroLeague, and they did it with great authority. Davies wasn't just a rotation piece in Spain, he was a key player for coach Jasikevicius.

Brandon Davies

Team:FC BarcelonaPosition:CAge:30Height:208 cmWeight:109 kgBirth place:Philadelphia, United States of AmericaProfileNewsStatistics

The two had a very positive relationship, and the Lithuanian head coach had already worked with Davies in Kaunas, so losing him is a big blow for the Catalan club.

Barcelona tried to keep Davies, offering him a new contract on multiple occasions, but the American player always turned down those offers, convinced that Milan was the best option for him.

When Barcelona realized that there was another team behind all this, Davies was already long gone.

Sure, Barcelona made a strong move and signed Jan Vesely to replace Davies, but the departure of the American big man remains a big loss for Jasikevicius. Milan made a statement with this type of move, once again proving how ambitious they're in pursuing another EuroLeague Final Four trip.

A frontcourt for the ages

With the addition of Brandon Davies, Armani Exchange will have one of the best frontcourts in Europe, if not the best.

Kyle Hines has extended his contract, Nicolò Melli will still be there, and Johannes Voigtmann is likely to join to replace Dinos Mitoglou, who's expected to part ways with the team when his suspension is officially announced.

Also, there is always a useful presence of domestic players like Giampaolo Ricci, and Paul Biligha will give even more depth to the rotations inside.

The combination of experience, size, basketball IQ, and technical skills of Milan's frontcourt will be really amazing to watch, but probably not that much for the opponents. Looking at this season's issues, one of them was that the Italian team didn't have enough depth in some positions.

It won't be the case this season, as the roster will be loaded in basically every department.

Conclusion and transfer's grade

Armani Exchange made one of the best moves available on the market in signing Brandon Davies. They were able to fix one of their main issues of the past season, not having a real alternative to Kyle Hines in the frontcourt.

With Davies on the roster, Milan has one of the best forward pairings you could get, increasing the team's quality and versatility.

The former Barcelona big man can be a weapon both offensively and defensively, as he looks like the perfect fit for Messina's system and already has a lot of experience at the EuroLeague level.

He didn't finish the season with Barcelona in the best way possible, looking a little bit gassed, but after so many games played, that seemed pretty understandable. This is a huge addition for Milan, one they could be proud of.

Overall Grade: A-

AX Armani Exchange Milan

Position Player Status PG/SG Stefano Tonut(story) Signed until 2024 PG/SG Naz Mitrou-Long (story) Signed until 2024 PG/SG Billy Baron (story) Signed until 2024 SG Devon Hall Signeduntil 2023 SG Davide Moretti Signeduntil 2025 SF Shavon Shields Signed until 2023 SF Davide Alviti Signed until 2024 PF Giampaolo Ricci Signed until 2023 PF Luigi Datome Signeduntil 2023 PF Dinos Mitoglou Signeduntil 2024 PF Nicolo Melli Signed until 2024 C Kyle Hines(story) Signed until 2023 C Brandon Davies(story) Signed until 2024 Coach Ettore Messina Expired contract Sergio Rodriguez (will not return), Malcolm Delaney (will not return), Troy Daniels (will not return), Ricardo Moraschini (will not return), Paul Biligha, Trey Kell (will not return), Ben Bentil, Jerian Grant (will not return), Kaleb Tarczewski (will not return) Rumored to leave Dinos Mitoglou (story) Interested Kevin Pangos, Johannes Voigtmann, Amedeo Tessitori (story) Thank you for reading us! We have even more content for you.