By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Olimpia Milano coach Ettore Messina said that the club will be exploring free agent options after Shavon Shields’ injury while admitting that it’s “impossible” to find a player with the diverse characteristics of the sidelined swingman.
“Obviously, we look at the market as we always do, as all the EuroLeague teams do, but Shields is a star even at that level, replacing him is impossible,” Messina said following the Italian League loss of his team to Reyer Venezia. “We should see what the market is proposing and, if anything, make assessments on what we can add. Looking at the things that we don’t have without him [Shields] and knowing that we could not have everything because he is someone who scores and defends, he does many things. For the moment, let’s look at how the situation evolves, at the assessments that will be made in 6-8 weeks.”
Shields suffered a tendon injury on his left foot near the end of the first period during the EuroLeague game of Milano at Bayern Munich. The Italian side escaped with a tough road win in the very last seconds but the loss of its leading scorer for at least six to eight weeks overshadowed the result.
Milano is also without captain Gigi Datome and guard Naz Mitrou-Long. The Red Shoes are 3-1 in EuroLeague and have the same record in Italy.