{"id":858355,"date":"2026-08-17T10:38:09","date_gmt":"2026-08-17T10:38:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/858355\/"},"modified":"2026-08-17T10:38:09","modified_gmt":"2026-08-17T10:38:09","slug":"ognjen-dobric-obradovic-made-a-mistake-by-sidelining-motiejunas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/858355\/","title":{"rendered":"Ognjen Dobri\u0107: “Obradovi\u0107 made a mistake by sidelining Motiejunas"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ognjen Dobri\u0107 rarely gives lengthy interviews, but he opened up on a wide range of topics during an appearance on the 6.75 podcast<\/a>, with much of the conversation focused on Crvena Zvezda.<\/p>\n

\u201cObradovi\u0107\u2019s system could work with more time\u201d<\/p>\n

Dobri\u0107 believes one of the main difficulties under Sa\u0161a Obradovi\u0107 was translating the coach\u2019s enormous basketball knowledge into something the players could consistently execute.<\/p>\n

\u201cSa\u0161a really knows a lot about basketball, he sees it from every possible angle and I believe he can find a solution to any basketball problem.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, the Zvezda captain believes Obradovi\u0107 sometimes gave the players too much information:<\/p>\n

\u201cPlayers can\u2019t look at basketball through his eyes because he is basically involved in basketball 24 hours a day. Not everyone can follow him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite that, Dobri\u0107 believes Obradovi\u0107\u2019s approach could ultimately work if given enough time:<\/p>\n

\u201cI think Sa\u0161a\u2019s system could work if he had enough time, say two or three years with the same team.\u201d<\/p>\n

The rotation became an issue<\/p>\n

Dobri\u0107 also revealed that some players were unhappy with the way Obradovi\u0107 managed the rotation.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of players weren\u2019t happy because Sa\u0161a would take them out when they were playing well.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to Dobri\u0107, the coach sometimes followed the game plan he had prepared before tip-off rather than reacting to what was happening on the court.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s as if he follows that plan more than what is happening on the court.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dobri\u0107 stressed that Obradovi\u0107 was not deliberately trying to hurt the players, but rather remained committed to his basketball vision.<\/p>\n

\u201cSidelining Motiejunas was a mistake\u201d<\/p>\n

One of the strongest statements from Dobri\u0107 concerned Donatas Motiejunas.<\/p>\n

\u201cDonatas practically turned our season around. Then Bolomboy and Rivero returned, so suddenly we had four centers, along with Odjeleye. Sa\u0161a decided to sideline Motiejunas, and I think that was a mistake.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dobri\u0107 believes the Lithuanian big man remained an important piece:<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think Donatas expected it either, because he had an important role and knew Sa\u0161a\u2019s system well. He was a very important piece for us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dobri\u0107 and Obradovi\u0107 maintained a constructive relationship<\/p>\n

Despite disagreements over basketball decisions, Dobri\u0107 said his relationship with Obradovi\u0107 remained positive.<\/p>\n

\u201cSa\u0161a and I spoke often and they were mostly constructive conversations. He was trying to find a way to approach the players.\u201d<\/p>\n

As captain, Dobri\u0107 also tried to act as a bridge between the coaching staff and the locker room:<\/p>\n

\u201cI would tell him certain things, he would listen to me, but in the end he would still stick to his system and his approach.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTeodosi\u0107 is perfect for this job\u201d<\/p>\n

Dobri\u0107 was particularly positive when discussing Milo\u0161 Teodosi\u0107, his former teammate who has moved into an important sporting role at Crvena Zvezda following his playing career.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis job really suits Mi\u0161a. He has completely immersed himself in the role.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to Dobri\u0107, Teodosi\u0107 was already showing those qualities while he was still a player:<\/p>\n

\u201cEven when he was a player, he was constantly talking, organizing meetings and dealing with these things. This is practically the ideal job for him.\u201d<\/p>\n

His reputation in European basketball is another major asset:<\/p>\n

\u201cHe has a huge name in European basketball and when Milo\u0161 Teodosi\u0107 calls you, it\u2019s immediately a different story. I think Zvezda made a great move there.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Teodosi\u0107 and Serbia chapter<\/p>\n

Dobri\u0107 also recalled the episode that led to Teodosi\u0107\u2019s exclusion from the Serbian national team, under head coach Svetislav Pe\u0161i\u0107.<\/p>\n

He remembered an incident during a training camp in Stara Pazova, when Teodosi\u0107 became frustrated during a defensive drill.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe woke up around four and I saw Mi\u0161a\u2019s message in the group. Nobody had any idea that things could go in that direction. He never came back. He left while we were sleeping.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dobri\u0107 admitted he does not know exactly what happened between Teodosi\u0107 and Pe\u0161i\u0107:<\/p>\n

\u201cI really don\u2019t know what happened between the two of them. Unfortunately, that\u2019s how his story with the national team ended.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Ognjen Dobri\u0107 rarely gives lengthy interviews, but he opened up on a wide range of topics during an…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":858356,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[574],"tags":[64,63,726,85],"class_list":["post-858355","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-basketball","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-basketball","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/858355","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=858355"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/858355\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/858356"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=858355"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=858355"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=858355"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}