{"id":564186,"date":"2026-11-14T08:35:40","date_gmt":"2026-11-14T07:35:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportando.basketball\/?p=564186"},"modified":"2026-11-14T08:35:43","modified_gmt":"2026-11-14T07:35:43","slug":"olimpia-milano-the-transfer-market-revolves-around-onyema-cost-needs-and-skill-set","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportando.basketball\/en\/olimpia-milano-the-transfer-market-revolves-around-onyema-cost-needs-and-skill-set\/","title":{"rendered":"Olimpia Milano, the transfer market revolves around Onyema: cost, needs and skill set"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Ze\u2019Rik Onyema is getting closer to becoming a new Olimpia Milano player. According to RealOlimpiaMilano<\/a>, the deal is expected to be officially announced on Monday, following Sunday’s 4 p.m. game against Treviso, which should be the center’s final appearance in a Scafati jersey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As reported by the Milan-based outlet, Onyema’s arrival primarily addresses a need in both numbers and playing style. Following Devin Booker’s injury, Milano have been left with just two natural centers available: Moses Wright and Ousmane Diop. Wright is going through a difficult spell in terms of confidence, while Diop has a history of injuries that makes it difficult to rely on him consistently throughout the demanding domestic and EuroLeague schedule. The available power forwards \u2013 Alec Peters, Pippo Ricci and Jason Burnell \u2013 do not offer the same qualities as a natural center.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another positive aspect concerns the financial side of the deal. According to Alessandro Maggi of RealOlimpiaMilano, the investment required to bring Onyema to Milano should be around $500,000 gross. Unlike Mike Tobey, the player does not have a EuroLeague exit clause in his contract with Scafati. However, the deal should not have a particularly significant impact on Milano’s budget. It would also allow the club to add another big man without using an additional non-EU roster spot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, Onyema’s skill set is another reason why this move makes sense. He offers a different profile compared to Tobey, with strong rolling abilities and a greater aptitude for protecting the rim \u2013 two qualities Milano currently need. Despite his limited experience in Europe’s top competitions, his numbers are encouraging. He averaged 10.3 points and 7.1 rebounds in Finland, shooting 68.2% from two-point range. In his first seven games in Italy with Scafati, he has maintained a similar level, averaging 11.4 points and 5.9 rebounds while shooting 67.9% from two.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Further evidence came in the matchup against Virtus Bologna, the first game of his career against a EuroLeague team. Onyema recorded 20 points and five rebounds in 31 minutes, shooting 9-for-12 from two-point range, despite his team’s heavy defeat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Olimpia Milano, Onyema could therefore represent a signing that directly addresses the team’s current needs, adding qualities that are currently missing from the roster.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Scafati center is close to joining the Italian powerhouse, with the official announcement expected on Monday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":178,"featured_media":552641,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_spbk_hide_featured":false,"_jetpack_hide_featured_image":false,"_jetpack_featured_image_duplicate_dismissed":0,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[399,259],"tags":[16371],"rumors":[],"typology":[183],"posizionamento":[16775],"class_list":["post-564186","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nba","category-serie-a","tag-olimpia-milano-en","typology-rumors","posizionamento-stories"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/sportando.basketball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2026\/10\/Zerick-Onyema.jpg","digistream_id":0,"digistream":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportando.basketball\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/564186","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportando.basketball\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportando.basketball\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportando.basketball\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/178"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportando.basketball\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=564186"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/sportando.basketball\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/564186\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":564190,"href":"https:\/\/sportando.basketball\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/564186\/revisions\/564190"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportando.basketball\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/552641"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportando.basketball\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=564186"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportando.basketball\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=564186"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportando.basketball\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=564186"},{"taxonomy":"rumors","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportando.basketball\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rumors?post=564186"},{"taxonomy":"typology","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportando.basketball\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/typology?post=564186"},{"taxonomy":"posizionamento","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportando.basketball\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posizionamento?post=564186"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}