New operation on the Milan-Tortona axis?
Olimpia Milano is reportedly closely following Dante Maddox Jr, a 2001 class who grew up between Cal State, Toledo and Xavier. In his first season as a professional he is shining in the BNXT League, with remarkable averages: 25.4 points, 6.2 rebounds and 2.6 assists per contest. According to a report by Backdoor Podcast’s Orazio Cauchi, the Milan club is interested in putting him under contract, although it will have to deal with competition from several EuroCup clubs. The idea could be to leave him one year on loan, with Derthona Basket in pole to welcome him.
Should the loan to Tortona materialize, Maddox Jr would find himself working under Mario Fioretti, the coach who has been sitting on the Bertram Derthona Basket bench since last summer. A profile that is anything but coincidental: Fioretti, 52, spent no less than 22 years at Olimpia Milano between the youth sector and the role of assistant to Ettore Messina, accumulating a deep knowledge of the mechanisms of the Milanese club. His appointment as head coach of Tortona, made official in June 2025 with a two-year contract until 2027, represents the Roman coach’s first career coaching assignment. A link with Milan, therefore, that could facilitate the management of an eventual loan and guarantee the young American a path of growth monitored directly by the parent company.
On the incoming market front, Maddox Jr’s is not the only dossier open at Olimpia. The red-and-white club is also reportedly pushing hard for Jason Burnell, a wing-guard from Germani Brescia who is coming off a top-notch season. For Burnell, who has stated how the Euroleague represents his big dream, a landing in Milan could be a temptation hard to ignore, despite his strong attachment to the biancoblù jersey and the words full of sentiment with which he motivated his renewal with Brescia last year.
Still with a view to the market, in recent weeks the name of Andrea Calzavara, a 2001 class point guard from APU Udine, had also been circulating as a possible target for Olimpia. The Friulian club, however, intervened with an official note to deny any transfer hypothesis, specifying that the player is bound to the club by a multi-year contract and is fully within the technical programs. A position also reiterated by his agent, Riccardo Sbezzi: “Andrea is comfortable in Udine and remains where he is.” On the opposite front, Simone Fontecchio has instead categorically ruled out a return to the Euroleague and a move to Olimpia Milano, stating that he wants to continue pursuing his NBA dream after experiences with Utah Jazz, Detroit Pistons and Miami Heat.
