Olimpia Milano: Daniele Baiesi Admits His Mistake and Discusses Possible Cuts

Six losses in seven EuroLeague games, including the defeat against Virtus Bologna: Olimpia Milano is going through a rough patch—and “rough” is an understatement—even though Coach Peppe Poeta remains firmly in his position for now.

In an interview with *La Gazzetta dello Sport*, general manager Daniele Baiesi took the blame for what’s happening: “I am responsible for building this team.”

There’s talk of possible moves to strengthen the team: “No one has ever said no to the transfer market. To make changes, there need to be players available who represent an upgrade; we don’t make changes just for the sake of it. But regardless of what you can do, we can’t ignore the need to resolve the problems the team continues to face.”

“The schedule doesn’t give us a chance to work, and building habits takes time and a certain level of experience that this team lacks. Then, when it comes to the transfer market: everyone focuses on incoming transfers, but at that point, I’m also thinking about outgoing transfers.”

The loss to Virtus came on Sunday at the Forum, on the fifth matchday of Serie A: the Bianconeri won 98–94 in overtime, following a remarkable comeback after trailing by as many as 19 points. With this result, Virtus stands alone at the top of the standings with a perfect 10-point record, while Olimpia remains at 4 points, four points behind. Coach Poeta spoke of a team that “did what it set out to do for 35 minutes,” but lost its rhythm after Wright and Diop fouled out and gave up 22 offensive rebounds. The coach also emphasized the need to get a few more players back and the lack of confidence that emerged in the nail-biting finish.