Partizan didn’t hold back this summer! Club president Ostoja Mijailović openly admitted that the black-and-whites wanted to bring back Nikola Milutinov and Vladimir Lučić. Yes, you read that right – they wanted to re-sign two huge names in Serbian basketball. But, as usual, things didn’t go smoothly. The club made offers to the duo, but they chose a different path.
Mijailović highlighted that Partizan has a serious problem – a hole in the system that has lasted for six years. The generation of players who would now be between 28 and 33 years old simply doesn’t exist in the club. There are no more homegrown Partizan players who once formed the backbone of the team. Bogdan Bogdanović went to the NBA and signed a big contract, and the club has no choice among domestic players. People still live in the past, in some old Partizan, while basketball in Europe has long reached a new, much higher level.
Although the black-and-whites signed Dylan Osetkowski and Jabari Parker this summer and kept the current roster, Brendon Davis and Balša Koprivica left the team. Isak Bonga recently extended his contract, but it’s clear the problem with domestic players is huge and must be urgently addressed.
Is it possible that Partizan, a club with such tradition and a famous school, today has no players who could replace the stars who left? Is this just a club problem or a problem of Serbian basketball as a whole? Mijailović is brutally honest – there are no longer those who will wear the Partizan jersey with pride and quality that was once the standard.
This is not just a story about transfers; it’s a wake-up call. Basketball in Serbia must change, invest in youth, and create a new generation of champions. Or we will watch as our biggest clubs slowly lose their identity and strength.
What about you? What’s your take? Is it time to finally face reality or keep dreaming about the good old days? Drop a comment and let’s see who’s for revolution and who’s stuck in nostalgia!
