Calathes completes Barcelona move
Nick Calathes has officially completed his move to Barcelona by penning a three-year deal with the Catalan club.
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This following statement was released by Barcelona on Thursday:
“Barça and Nick Calathes have reached an initial agreement for the point guard to join the club through to June 30, 2023, pending a medical on Friday.
“The 31-year-old arrives from Panathinaikos, where he has played for a total of 8 seasons and become one of the best point guards in the Euroleague. Calathes, and newly-appointed Barça coach Sarunas Jasikevicius played together on the Greek team in 2009/10 and 2011/12.
“Best passer
“Calathes is a top level assist provider and 'pick and roll' player, as well as showing his defensive skills with his intelligence and reading of the game.
“In 2019/20, Calathes has been the best passer in the Euroleague, with an average of 9.1 assists per game. His scoring record is 13.1 points per game. In 2017/18 and 2018/19 he was also the top assist provider, with averages of 8.0 and 8.7PG, respectively. He led the league in steals in 2016, 2018 and 2019.
“Calathes has won the Euroleague (in 2011), 6 Greek leagues and 4 Greek cups. He also won the EuroCup with Lokomotiv Kuban in 2012/13.
“Born in the USA
“Although he holds Greek nationality, Calathes was born and raised in the USA. His grandfather immigrated to New York aged 15 in search of new opportunities, as talked about in a Euroleague documentary.
“The Calathes family grew up in Florida, with Nick attending Florida University from 2007 to 2009. That summer, aged 20, he received an offer to join Panathinaikos.
“He played for them initially from 2009 to 2012, before spending a year at Lokomotiv (2012-13) and then two seasons with the Memphis Grizzlies (2013-15), featuring in 138 games. In 2015 he returned to Greece and to Panathinaikos, where he has spent the past 5 campaigns.”
The fact that Sarunas Jasikevicius recently became the new Barcelona boss played a major role in Calathes’ decision to move to Catalonia. Barcelona are regarded as one of the biggest clubs of the EuroLeague.
Calathes leaves Panathinaikos after eight seasons with the organisation. Initially, his contract with Panathinaikos was due to run for a further two years, but the two parties mutually agreed to cancel the deal as a result of the Prasini not being able to afford his wages.
