Same principles, new faces: reshuffle is on the way for Armani Exchange / News - Basketnews.com

Credit: USA Today Sports – Scanpix Credit USA Today Sports – Scanpix

In Italy, we have a common saying ‘squadra che vince non si cambia’, which roughly translates to ‘you don’t change a team that just won’. However, this is not always correct in reality.

Free throws this season

73%10,7Points made:10,7Accuracy:73,4%Place in standings:15Record max:24Record min:1Most made FTs:Shavon ShieldsTeamEuroLeagueStatisticsSchedule

In basketball and other team sports, we often see that relying on the same group that just won a major title doesn't always result in the continuation of winning. Bringing in some fresh blood can be useful for creating new incitements inside the locker room and giving a different setup to the team.

At the end of the day, we all know that basketball is constantly changing and moving forward, so remaining in a stalemate doesn't really create value for the future.

In the past two seasons, Armani Exchange Milan reached the EuroLeague playoffs, which is something remarkable for a club that, despite having very solid ownership and a good budget, hadn't reached that stage of the competition since 2014.

After reaching the Final Four last season, coach Messina made it clear that the goal going forward was to be as competitive as possible every single season.

It's true that this season Milan won't make the trip to Belgrade for the Final Four, but they finished the regular season in third place, and they showed, once again, that when healthy, they're one of the best teams in Europe.

Back in March, we analyzed in deep the situation for the Italian club going forward. 10 players on expiring deals and some changes that were expected to arrive. But after the elimination from the playoffs, all sorts of rumors started to swirl around the Italian side.

So with the European season over for the team and the Italian playoffs about to start, this looks like a good time to make some clarity about the type of changes that we might see for the Armani’s club next season.

Kevin Pangos

Team:CSKA MoscowPosition:PGAge:29Height:189 cmWeight:82 kgBirth place:CanadaProfileNewsStatistics

One department in which we'll probably see some changes is the backcourt. Sergio Rodriguez, Malcolm Delaney, and Troy Daniels are all on expiring deals. Rodriguez, who'll be 36 this summer, has settled in really well in Milan.

He and his family have a fantastic relationship with the city and with Mr. Armani, but it's also natural that at this stage of his career, a potential return to Spain would be attractive for the player, who spent the last seven years between the USA, Russia, and Italy.

Reports from Spain have linked Rodriguez to a potential return to Real Madrid, where he had already played from 2010 to 2016, winning three ACB and one EuroLeague title.

However, his future remains uncertain, multiple sources have told BasketNews. The player hasn't made a decision yet and will take all the time necessary before committing to any offer.

The Italian side made it clear to the Spanish point guard that they'd love to continue with him for next season, too, but the final decision, of course, will be on the player's shoulders.

Malcolm Delaney stated multiple times, including one in an interview with our website, that he has no intention to do another full season in Europe. He wants to take more time off during the offseason to deal with his other business ventures and to take care of his family.

With the two main men in the backcourt both on expiring deals, Milan needed to act preemptively, and that's exactly what happened.

One of the first guarantees for the next season is that Milan reached an agreement with Canadian/Slovenian point guard Kevin Pangos, as it was reported by Emiliano Carchia of Sportando and confirmed to BasketNews.

The 29-year-old player had originally signed a multi-year deal with CSKA Moscow in February after parting ways with the Cleveland Cavaliers. However, he never made his official debut after Russia declared war on Ukraine and the decision of the EuroLeague to suspend all the Russian teams from the competition.

The former Zenit point guard is now expected to sign a two-year deal with Armani Exchange Milan as soon as every aspect of his previous deal with CSKA Moscow is solved.

The Italian side also remains vigilant on Shane Larkin's front. The American guard, who has also received a Turkish passport, will become a free agent at the end of this season.

Anadolu Efes, of course, will do its best to keep Larkin for at least another season, but at the same time, the Turkish club is starting to look at alternatives in case Larkin decides to leave. Among the options available, one name that Anadolu Efes is considering with a certain level of interest is Scottie Wilbekin, sources told BasketNews, who also has Turkish citizenship.

On the other hand, to bolster the department of the Italian players, Milan is seriously considering the possibility of adding Stefano Tonut from Reyer Venezia, multiple sources told BasketNews.

Tonut has a EuroLeague escape in his contract this summer, worth around €200.000, a source told BasketNews. Armani Exchange had already shown interest in the Italian guard last summer, but the negotiation got pretty complicated without a real exit clause in his contract.

However, this summer, Milan does expect a certain level of competition to sign Tonut since other clubs, including Partizan Belgrade, are showing interest in the Italian national team member, a source told BasketNews.

Moreover, this summer, Milan will need to decide on the future of Italian prospect Giordano Bortolani. The 21-year-old guard is under contract with the club until 2025, and this season he played on loan with Nutribullet Treviso.

He was named Best Young Player of the Basketball Champions League, averaging almost 15 points per game while shooting an outstanding 56% from three-point. Another season on loan could be a solution since Milan is currently focusing on confirming most of the Italian players already on the roster.

As we previously reported on our website, Brandon Davies and Johannes Voigtmann are candidates to strengthen Milan's frontcourt.

The American big man is on an expiring deal in Barcelona. Although Sarunas Jasikevicius and the front office would love to keep him, the extension talks haven't progressed much so far, multiple sources told BasketNews.

Davies' skillset would be almost a perfect fit for Ettore Messina's system and allow the team to pair Kyle Hines with another top big man. Kaleb Tarczweski will be out of contract this summer, and although there's an option to extend the deal for a further season, it's unlikely to be picked up by the club.

There's another situation that Milan needs to address in the big men department, and it's related to Dinos Mitoglou. The Greek power forward was one of the main additions made by the Italian club last summer.

Milan invested a lot of resources to recruit him, and they also decided not to continue with Zach LeDay to sign Mitoglou.

But between a foot injury that sidelined him for three months and then the suspension for failing an anti-doping test, Armani Exchange had the opportunity to rely on him only in the first few months of the season.

The player is now waiting for the final verdict, but his future in Milan looks deeply uncertain. As it showed during Riccardo Moraschini's case, the Italian club has a zero-tolerance policy for doping, and it's highly unlikely that they'll continue their partnership with the Greek forward beyond this season, especially if the verdict is severe.

That's why Milan will most likely make another addition in the frontcourt. The profile of Johannes Voigtmann remains one of interest for the Italian side. The CSKA Moscow big man had already received interest from Milan last summer, but in the end, he decided to continue with the Russian club.

With the current state of uncertainty surrounding the Russian clubs, the German big man is expected to part ways with CSKA Moscow at the end of the season.

Bostjan Nachbar, the managing director of ELPA, recently confirmed that by the end of the season, most of the foreign players currently still under contract with Russian teams will resolve their contract situation and will be free to find new teams.

From this perspective, Voigtmann could become a very intriguing option for Milan due to both his experience and skillset.

On the wings, with Devon Hall, Shavon Shields, Giampaolo Ricci, and Davide Alviti all under contract for next season, too, so it's unlikely that Milan will make substantial changes.

After Game 2 of the playoff series against Anadolu Efes, Messina said that the growth of both Devon Hall and Shavon Shields is considered a key factor for the club going forward.

"For the next season, we want to come back to the playoffs and do even better than this season," Messina said. "In this sense, the growth of players like Shavon Shields and Devon Hall is crucial for us."

Italian veteran Gigi Datome will be out of contract this summer, but the club intends to keep him around for another season, and negotiations for a new deal will begin soon.

Just like the other veterans (Kyle Hines and Sergio Rodriguez), Milan doesn't want to lose the leadership and the experience of a player like Datome.

Ettore Messina is not going anywhere, he has already agreed to remain with the club for the next two seasons. His ambition remains the same: keeping Armani Exchange Milan at the highest level possible, both in Italy and Europe.

In order to do so, a little reshuffle is necessary heading into the next season.

Some fresh new faces are on the way, and changes will be applied, but the end game and the mindset will remain the same. Soon it'll be the time for a new challenge.

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