Partizan won’t call back Iffe Lundberg

Partizan and Zeljko Obradovic cannot count on “just” three injured players — but the situation is far from simple for several reasons.

The first and most important is that the black-and-whites were never fully complete before the season even started. Then injuries hit the tandem of Shake Milton and Carlik Jones.

Pero Antic

The team was also looking for a player in the backcourt after Frank Ntilikina unexpectedly left when Olympiacos came forward willing to pay €300,000 as a buyout. At the time, it seemed like a smart move — the Frenchman hadn’t impressed in Belgrade, and that kind of money isn’t easy to earn in European basketball.

However, everything changed after the injury to Carlik Jones, undoubtedly Partizan’s lead guard, who will be sidelined at least until January or February 2026 with a broken metatarsal in his foot. That means the black-and-whites now need three players.

One of them could have been secured immediately if, like Crvena Zvezda did earlier with Yago Dos Santos, they had brought back Iffe Lundberg, who was told last summer he could look for a new club. Since he hasn’t found one yet, the Dane is still under contract with Partizan. That doesn’t mean he will return, however, because the club’s sporting department, according to Mozzart Sport, decided Lundberg isn’t a player who could solve long-term issues on the court, so he won’t get a call to come back.

One dilemma gone, but the deep hole remains, as Shake Milton is currently the only true point guard on Obradovic’s team, and he has just recovered from a twisted ankle, meaning he will likely miss the next EuroLeague clash against Paris.

That leaves Duane Washington and Arijan Lakic, who might fill in but are not traditional playmakers — certainly not at Carlik Jones’ level in that role. Sterling Brown can handle the ball, but even he is just a temporary solution, far from a long-term fix.

Kristian Palotie, in an interview to Basketball Sphere, spoke about the incredible development of basketball in Finland.

How Finland has progressed from an “insignificant” basketball nation to a European powerhouse?@CoachPalotie 🗣️