By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
The Denver Nuggets seem to be pleased with the transfer of their stashed center Ismael Kamagate to a club like Olimpia Milano for two particular reasons: A) He gets the opportunity to gain experience in top-level basketball by playing in EuroLeague, and B) He will be coached by Ettore Messina.
Nuggets assistant general manager Tommy Balcetis specifically mentioned that his team wants Kamagate to further develop in a competitive championship like the EuroLeague before they bring him over and that Milano provides the French big man with an ideal environment to improve.
“He has great potential to be a modern big,” Balcetis said to the DNVR Nuggets podcast. “Great finisher at the rim. I think his field goal percentage is about 70 percent. He still needs to get just a little more real playing time under his belt. And that probably means EuroLeague type of level. We essentially want him to really get to a point where we can bring him over and have him back up Nikola [Jokic]. It’s a tall task and we understand that.”
“That’s why… him playing in EuroLeague, playing for a great coach in Ettore Messina. Milano is such a high-level team. He’s gonna go there and he’s going to get into the “Ettore Messina University” immediately,” Balcetis added. “We don’t know how long he’s going to be there, that’s up in the air.”
Nuggets assistant GM Tommy Balcetis says when Denver does bring Ismael Kamagate over from Europe, they want him to be ready to be their backup center immediately. That’s a year or two away from potentially happening: “Him playing in Euroleague, playing for a great coach in… pic.twitter.com/EBeH6jl3kg
— Harrison Wind (@HarrisonWind) July 6, 2023
Kamagate’s acquisition by Milano has been confirmed by the club’s general manager Christos Stavropoulos. The 22-year-old player will join the Italian side after a quite solid EuroCup run with Paris Basketball.
In 2022-23, Kamagate averaged 9.2 points and 8.4 rebounds, shooting 76.3 percent (even better than the “70” that Balcetis was thinking of) from the field in 22:59 minutes over 20 EuroCup appearances.