Former NBA forward Nikola Mirotic has signed with Olimpia Milano in Italy, the team announced in a press release. The new contract for the 2021/22 EuroLeague MVP will run through 2026.
“I am happy to become part of this great family that is Olimpia Milano and to be able to contribute to making this team and this prestigious company more and more competitive,” Mirotic said. “… I am also very happy to be back playing for coach (Ettore) Messina, whom I met when I was starting out. I’m sure next season will be a fun one and our fans will be proud of us.”
Mirotic played five NBA seasons with the Bulls, Pelicans and Bucks before returning to Europe in 2019. The contract he signed with Barcelona was the largest in the EuroLeague at the time, but it was terminated last month with two years remaining.
After his original negotiations with Milano collapsed, Mirotic worked out a three-year agreement with KK Partizan in Serbia. However, he decided not to sign the contract, citing unspecified “threats and insults.” The franchise claimed it could guarantee his safety and was skeptical about his stated reasons for backing out of the deal.
There’s more international news to pass along:
- John Wall is disputing a report that surfaced on Wednesday that he’s also talking to Olimpia Milano, tweeting, “Where Do Y’all Get Ur Info from? False News!!” Wall played 34 games for the Clippers last season before being traded and waived in February. He held a private workout for several teams last month in Las Vegas.
- Langston Galloway has signed with Pallacanestro Reggiana in Italy, according to Donatas Urbonas of BasketNews (Twitter link). The eight-year NBA veteran is part of the Select Team that’s scrimmaging against Team USA’s World Cup squad. He played for College Park in the G League last season.
- Patrick McCaw has joined Filou Oostende in Belgium, the team announced. He spent last season with the G League champion Delaware Blue Coats after winning three NBA titles with Golden State and Toronto.
- Former NBA guard Semaj Christon has signed with Germani Brescia in Italy, according to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. Christon participated in a free agent mini-camp with the Timberwolves in June.
- Former Pistons shooting guard Deividas Sirvydis has a new contract with Lietkabelis Panevezys in Lithuania, according to Urbonas.
- G League forward Robert Woodard II has joined ADA Blois Basket, the team tweeted. The 40th pick in the 2020 draft signed with the Thunder last October and spent the season in the G League.
Why did Barcelona terminate Mirotic’s contract?
Basically, Barcelona wants to spend more on their soccer team and to do so they need to save money on their basketball team, because the salaries of all their different teams (soccer, basketball, handball and hockey) count towards the salary cap. In Spain the cap is different for each franchise and is based on their income and expenditure (it is a measure to ensure the economic viability of the franchises, rather than the fairness of the competition). By waving Mirotic they will have to pay him more or less the same, but his salary won’t count towards that cap.
Him and his family received death threats
The alleged death threats had nothing to do with Barcelona. After Barcelona waived him, Mirotic reached an agreement with a Serbian team, Partizan Belgrado. But he broke it claiming he had been threatened by the fans of a rival team from the same city.