Players come and players go, but to have a pair of them return to their former team in one week, as Olympiacos Piraeus did with the signings of prime-time pros Nikola Milutinov and Nigel Williams-Goss, merits a closer look.
Twin anchors in the paint
Milutinov may have started his Turkish Airlines EuroLeague career with Partizan Belgrade, but he came of age with Olympiacos between 2015 and 2020, establishing himself as a force at center during an era when players his size, 2.13 meters, were being encouraged to diversify their games by moving outside and shooting from distance. Instead, Milutinov perfected the lost arts of his position, pick-and-rolls and rebounding, ensuring that the Reds' opponents always had to focus attention inside.
Between 2016-17, when he started playing full-time, and 2019-20, when he left for CSKA Moscow, no player pulled more offensive boards in the EuroLeague than Milutinov's 310. Only one player had more total boards than his 701. He was also sixth overall in PIR in that span, with 1,638. In other words, Milutinov was an anchor for Olympiacos in every sense.
At first glance, Milutinov's re-joining Olympiacos begs the question of how he will fit with another old-school center, Moustapha Fall, who has been instrumental in the Reds reaching two Final Fours since his arrival in 2021. Between them, they have attempted just 2 three-pointers in seven seasons in Piraeus, so the notion that Milutinov and Fall will play together much is remote.
Together, however, they will give Olympiacos a dominant presence at center that lasts 40 minutes per night. Milutinov will rebound more, especially on the offensive glass, while Fall blocks and passes better. But with either in the game, Olympiacos has the kind of presence under the rim that opponents cannot ignore. As a result, their teammates can expect to defend more closely and run in transition more freely.