Partizan president addresses Mirotic case: 'Something was standing between us' / News - Basketnews.com

Partizan president Ostoja Mijailovic touched on the fallout of Nikola Mirotic's transfer. He also named the team's goals for next season and the club's priorities in the summer market.

Credit: Srdjan Stevanovic/Euroleague Basketball via Getty Images Credit Srdjan Stevanovic/Euroleague Basketball via Getty Images

The news thatNikola Mirotic won't end up signing withPartizan Mozzart Bet Belgradestruck like a bolt of lightning on Saturday afternoon. Almost everything was set up for the former FC Barcelona player to wear the black and white jersey.

Mirotic released an Instagram post where hesaid he would not join any Serbian teambecause of the threats he received following the reports about the agreement between him and Partizan.

Hours after the player's statement, the Serbian club responded byreleasing a statementof their own, claiming that Mirotic's decision had nothing to do with the supposed threats.

Ostoja Mijailovic also addressed the issue in an interview with MaxBet radio.

"I wouldn't pay much attention to it, the situation is over for him and for us," Partizan's president said before going into detail.

"A month and a half ago, [Zeljko] Obradovic called me and said that Mirotic was an option. It took two days for us to find financial opportunities for Mirotic to sign for Partizan. If someone thinks it's easy, they are seriously mistaken.

After two days, the administration gave the green light to Obradovic to negotiate with him. When he finished with Barcelona, ​​he told us that there was pressure, that there were threats, and we reacted immediately," Mijailovic continued.

"But we realized that something was standing between us and that he did not want to sign what we offered him. He is not the only player who can play in Partizan, nor is Partizan the only club where Mirotic can play. Nobody is bigger than Partizan, and we wish him all the best. Let's move on, nothing bad has happened," the club's chairman.

Mijailovic pointed out that the ambitions for the next season are higher compared to the previous one because the budget is also bigger.

"Last season, we secured the largest budget in our history, we won the ABA league after 10 years, and next season the budget will be even bigger than last year," he confirmed.

"Therefore, we'll have bigger goals. We will build a team that will aim at the top of the EuroLeague and that will win the ABA League again. Fans needn't worry," he advised.

The Serbian businessman also stressed that the team's priorities are to bring in a point guard and a center. Partizan's front office and staff will work on those signings in the days to come. Mijailovic explained that Dante Exum and Mathias Lessort must be replaced, while the power forward position remains open.

"We will not rush, bringing players at any price. They all should fit into Zeljko's mosaic. The fans should be sure that our goals are higher than last season," he assured.

The 44-year-old former politician said he's proud that Partizan managed to keep Kevin Punter, noting that the American guard accepted a smaller offer from Partizan compared to Barcelona.

"The same thing happened with Zach LeDay," he revealed. "It was of prime importance to keep the team's core, which I think we did."

Thank you for being with us! Subscribe to BN+ and browse ad-free.