Former NBA second-rounder Nando De Colo, who was on track for free agency this summer, won’t be making his return stateside after all. CSKA Moscow announced today that De Colo has signed a three-year extension to remain with the team that he helped lead to a Euroleague title this past season.
“I am very happy to continue playing for CSKA,” De Colo said in a statement. “It wasn’t a tough decision to take. I came back to Europe to play, to use the opportunities and carry more responsibility day-by-day. This is what I did, what I had here with the club. This year we had an amazing season. And this is what I want: to play, to do it for the best team in Europe and to be one of the leaders of this team. This is what is the most important for me, this is why I signed with CSKA.”
Based on De Colo’s statement, it’s not hard to see why he opted to remain in Moscow rather than returning to the NBA. In his current role, the 28-year-old is a star player, having earned the Euroleague’s and VTB United League’s MVP awards last season. If he returned to the NBA, De Colo would have been more of a role player — in his two seasons in the league from 2012 to 2014, he averaged just 3.8 points and 1.7 assists per contest in 119 games (11.9 MPG).
De Colo’s NBA rights are still held by the Raptors, with whom he finished the 2013/14 season. If he does return to the league, he’d be eligible for restricted free agency. However, had De Colo sought an NBA contract this year, Toronto probably wouldn’t have fought too hard to hang onto him, considering the club is set at the point guard spot with Kyle Lowry, Cory Joseph, and 2015 first-rounder Delon Wright.
I love his name!