Partizan Bolster Rotation With Stevens and Willis
In the summer transfer window Partizan signed two Americans, wing Lamar Stevens and shooter Derek Willis, deepening the rotation ahead of a new European and regional season.
- Partizan have added 2 new players, wing Lamar Stevens and shooter Derek Willis.
- Fans greeted the Stevens arrival online as a "midnight bomb," with the move confirmed on July 22 and 23.
- The black-and-whites are deepening their rotation ahead of European and regional competition.
It was around midnight when the phones of Partizan fans started buzzing. One headline, one name, and half of black-and-white Serbia was suddenly awake in front of a screen. Lamar Stevens is coming. Online they immediately christened him the “midnight bomb,” and that nickname says plenty about how the news landed. The club released the confirmation in two steps, on July 22 and 23, right when the summer transfer window usually enters its most interesting phase.
And before the dust around Stevens had even settled, the second piece of news arrived. Derek Willis, a shooter, another reinforcement for the rotation. Two names within a single day, and suddenly the talk about squad depth was louder than talk about anything else.
What Partizan gain from the two signings
Stevens is the kind of player the black-and-whites need on the wing. Physical, able to do the dirty work on defense and to shoulder part of the load when the offense stalls. He is not a man who chases the spotlight, but one who does what the coach asks, and that profile usually settles into a system fastest.
Willis brings something else, the jump shot from range. A short bench is every coach’s nightmare across a long season, and a player who opens space with his shooting solves exactly that problem. When the three-point line is under control, the opposing defense has to stretch, and that is where lanes open up for the pick-and-roll and for drives.
Together the pair does not change the team’s identity, but it does change the bench. Partizan face fixtures in both European and regional competition, two fronts that swallow minutes and wear down legs. A team that enters the spring with five to seven players in the rotation usually runs out of breath when it matters most. That is why these two signings are measured not only by names, but by the minutes they take off the shoulders of the main men.
The black-and-whites, then, have sent a clear message. They are not building a team for one game, but for a marathon that runs from autumn to spring, and one that is won by whoever has bodies to rotate.
How much deeper is the bench now?
That is the real question. Adding two players in a single day sounds powerful on paper, but a rotation is not built through social media posts, it is built at training and in minutes. Stevens and Willis have to fit in, learn the schemes, and find a rhythm with teammates before the first serious games arrive.
If they settle quickly, Partizan enter the season with a deeper bench than last year, and with a calmer coach who knows he has someone to rest. If the adjustment drags on, patience will be required, because new players rarely justify the “bomb” tag straight away. The season is long, there is room to sharpen up, but the clock is already ticking.
One thing is certain. In this window Partizan refused to sit on their hands and wait for rivals to make the first move. The two new names are here, and the real test comes the moment the lights go up over the court and the first ball is thrown into the air.
What do you think, will Stevens and Willis be the extra oxygen the black-and-whites need for a double season, or is squad depth still an open question?
