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2024 EuroLeague Offseason Grades: EA7 Emporio Armani Milan and FC Barcelona

Barcelona had a disapointing end to their season, Milano's season was a total failure. Both squads retooled in the summer and will have their sights set on competing for the Final Four. Do they have the quality to get there after the moves they made?

By Andrew Bernucca

Apr 12, 2024; Dallas, Texas, USA; Dallas Mavericks forward Olivier-Maxence Prosper (18) and Detroit Pistons forward Chimezie Metu (5) battle for position during the first half at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Chris Jones-Imagn Images
Apr 12, 2024; Dallas, Texas, USA; Dallas Mavericks forward Olivier-Maxence Prosper (18) and Detroit Pistons forward Chimezie Metu (5) battle for position during the first half at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Chris Jones-Imagn Images / Chris Jones-Imagn Images
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In what has been an exciting summer for EuroLeague basketball, nearly 20 NBA players from last season signed in Europe's top basketball competition, both FC Barcelona and Armani Milano have contributed to that number. Milano finally cleared out their surplus of bigs and added some quality guards, and Barcelona added some big names. How do their moves compare to the work of their opponents this summer?

EA7 Emporio Armani Milan Offseason Grade

Position last season: 12th

Our prediction for them last season: 10th

Players and personnel in: David McCormack, Zach LeDay, Josh Nebo, Leandro Bolmaro, Armoni Brooks, Nenad Dimitrijevic, Fabian Causeur, Ousmane Diop

Players and personnel out: Maodo Lo, Denzel Valentine, Alex Poythress, Devon Hall, Nicolo Melli, Johannes Voigtmann, Ismael Kamagate (loan), Kyle Hines (retired), Billy Baron, Shabazz Napier, Rodney McGruder

Offseason grade: B-

Try to add: Point guard depth

Prediction: Nikola Mirotic, when healthy, is still an MVP-level player. But last season, he couldn’t stay healthy, and the on-court fit around him was, to put it lightly, an abomination. There were lineups where he was… the shooting guard? Milano’s big man logjam was insurmountable, and they’ve restructured accordingly this offseason. Out with Alex Poythress, Nicolo Melli, and Johannes Voigtmann and in with Josh Nebo and David McCormack. Nebo is an ideal frontcourt partner for Mirotic. 

Leandro Bolmaro brings the floor general presence they yearned for all of last season, and Armoni Brooks, Nenad Dimitrijevic, Zach LeDay, and Shavon Shields provide the secondary scoring to support Mirotic and even give them a chance to win games where he’s not at his best. Fabian Causeur is always a good role player to have and it’s easy to see him winning them a key game this season with 14 minutes off the bench. 

They could use another floor general to backup Bolmaro and were rumored to be pursuing Skyler Mays but that fell flat. With or without that addition, Milano should be back in the play-in places at minimum and if Mirotic is healthy they could push for the top-6. 

FC Barcelona Offseason Grade

Position last season: 4th

Our prediction for them last season: 12th

Players and personnel in: Joan Penarroya (head coach), Kevin Punter, Justin Anderson, Chimezie Metu, Juan Nunez, Youssoupha Fall 

Players and personnel out: Roger Grimau (head coach), Ricky Rubio, Rokas Jokubaitis, Nikola Kalinic, Oscar Da Silva, Oriol Pauli, Michael Caicedo, Sergi Martinez, James Nnaji (loan)

Offseason grade: B-

Try to add: Nothing

Prediction: Roger Grimau got the toughest shake of any other coach in EuroLeague last season. We say that after not believing in his ability at all coming into the season. Barcelona’s squad severely lacked perimeter creation, had no one who could protect the rim (except, would it have killed you to play James Nnaji a bit more?), and then he was forced to work Ricky Rubio into his rotation mid-season. Rubio was still a good player, but absurdly redundant for a team that had too many point guards who weren’t threats from deep. 

Barcelona lost their playoff series, with home-court advantage, to Olympiacos and then were comfortably dispatched by Real Madrid in the ACB playoffs. That’s going to cost any coach his job, but putting the blame on him was unfair. Hopefully, Joan Penarroya will have better luck. He does have a better squad. 

Kevin Punter is a big swing. Maybe last season's woes were entangled in the Partizan Belgrade byzantine mess, or maybe his back issues are a bigger concern than we know. Chimezie Metu had a strong end to the season for the Detroit Pistons; he could be a fantastic rookie. Justin Anderson adjusted to the EuroLeague level well, Juan Nunez will be a fun draft-and-stash watch, and Youssoupha Fall finally gives them some rim protection. Barcelona will likely play at the same level as last season: among the cream of the crop for those who aren’t quite at the top.

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