Olimpia Milano is targeting Daniel Theis; Maccabi’s response is clear
“He’s just as important to us as all the other players, and we need to make sure he gradually gets back to his best form. We’ll use him when necessary.” Oded Kattash, the coach of Maccabi Tel Aviv, doesn’t seem in the least bit inclined to part ways with Daniel Theis. Having arrived this summer from Monaco, he has so far averaged 7.4 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 2 assists in seven EuroLeague games, and his name has been linked to Olimpia Milano, which has had a disastrous start to the continental tournament.
The Red-and-Whites’ record is indeed dismal: last night’s 73-84 home loss to Valencia left Peppe Poeta’s team with a 1-9 record, sitting in last place in the standings. Milan had managed to get back into the game by dominating the second and third quarters, but collapsed down the stretch, giving up 33 points in the final 10 minutes. Poeta himself admitted: “Honestly, this is the fourth game in a row we’ve lost the same way. We were tied with three minutes left, and on the final possession of the game, we struggled to find the basket. That’s what’s been happening, and we need to fix it.”
Maccabi, after all, is an opponent Olimpia knows well: on October 8, at the neutral venue of the Aleksandar Nikolic Hall in Belgrade, Kattash’s team prevailed 97–79, securing its first win of the 2026–27 EuroLeague season, with 23 points from Wright, 17 from Madar, and 13 each from Colson and Hoard. That loss had fueled rumors of a possible dismissal of Poeta, with the name of Ioannis Sfairopoulos—a former Maccabi coach—among those linked to the Milan bench.
On the transfer front, Olimpia is looking for reinforcements. There has been talk of Cam Thomas, a former NBA player with Brooklyn and Milwaukee, who has been mentioned as a possible European destination alongside Maccabi itself, and of Lonnie Walker IV, who played for the Israeli team last season. More recently, according to Telenuovo, Milan has set its sights on Mike Tobey of Tezenis Verona to bolster its frontcourt: his Slovenian passport would resolve the issue of the non-EU player slots, which have already been filled.
Meanwhile, Maccabi is grappling with logistical issues: after three seasons played in Belgrade, the club will play its home games in Limassol, Cyprus, at the Spyros Kyprianou Arena (approximately 8,000 seats). The debut is scheduled for the 11th matchday against Demetris Itoudis’s Hapoel Tel Aviv, while Cypriot police unions have sounded the alarm about the need for approximately 500 officers per game.
