Warriors Assistant Dejan Milojevic Looks to Provide Boost to the Big Man Rotation

The Warriors made a quiet, yet impactful hiring during the offseason by adding Dejan Milojevic to the coaching staff.

Milojevic’s focus is to develop James Wiseman, but he is not limited to that job, as he also helps with the development of Kevon Looney and looks to increase Draymond Green’s offensive production.

Formerly the head coach of the Montenegrin Buducnost, Milojevic found a successful career overseas, as he coached his team to winning the Montenegrin Cup Tournament and the Montenegrin League Championship. After his contract was over, the Warriors hired him over the summer and Milojevic has already made quite an impact on the team.

As the Warriors look to build their future around James Wiseman, they realized they needed someone familiar in developing big men, and Milojevic has found success in developing players like Boban Marjanovic, Ivica Zubac and last year’s MVP Nikola Jokic.

Additionally, his role with big men centers around increasing Green’s production as the power forward. Green’s offensive production has been a hot topic for a while, as his limited range gives defenses the ability to sag off him and provide help defense for the shooters coming off screens.

This season, Green’s offensive production has seen a slight tick. Green has changed his offensive game from taking unnecessary threes to attacking off the catch and being aggressive on drives. He’s also been working on his floater game, and Milojevic has made an impact on that as well.

Milojevic’s playing style has been described as hard-nosed and never giving up on plays, which resonates well with Green, who lets it all out on the floor every night.

Milojevic has also been seen around the Warriors facility working on Kevon Looney’s midrange shot. While the Warriors offense never relied on big men as the focal point, the bigs of the past have always been efficient and provided that ample boost.

Looney has also seen an increase in his field goal percentage, going from 54.8% last year to 57.8% this year. Defenses will yield those midrange looks for Looney, and Looney needs to take advantage of that.

While the Warriors patiently wait for the return of James Wiseman, Milojevic’s role in speeding up Wiseman’s development has come at a crucial time. Wiseman was supposed to work out with NBA legend Kevin Garnett during the offseason, but had that chance taken away from him once he tore his meniscus.

Now, as the season progresses, Wiseman won’t be thrown into the deep end like last season, but he will have a bigger role with certain matchups throughout the season.

(Photo credit: AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)