Free Agent Center Christian Koloko signed a contract with Crvena Zvezda, the Serbian team announced on Sunday morning (via Twitter).
This will be the first European stop for Koloko, who was selected 33rd overall in the 2022 draft after three collegiate seasons in Arizona. Cameroonian big man aroused interest from several other Euroleague clubs before he agreed to sign with Crvena Zvezda, according to a team statement.
Koloko’s contract with Crvena Zvezda, which started the Euroleague season 4-2, is subject to a technical inspection. The team includes several former NBA players, incl Jared Butler, Patrick Baldwin and Semi Ojeleyeamong others.
Colocco recently spent training camp and part of the preseason with the Pelicans, who refused him from his non-guaranteed deal on Addendum 9 on October 9.
At 6’11”, Kalaka showed some promise as Toronto’s rookie in 2022/23, but was forced to miss the entire 23/24 season due to a blood clot issue. He was medically cleared to return to the NBA before 24/25 and spent the entirety of that season on a two-way contract with the Lakers.
Koloko opened another two-way contract with Los Angeles last season, but it was terminated near the end of November. The 26-year-old spent about a week with the Austin Spurs of the G League the middle of December and then signed 10-day contract with the Grizzlies. Memphis returned it to a second 10-day deal on Jan. 2, but opted not to sign him until the end of the season when that contract expired.
Hawks signed Koloko to a two-way deal in mid-January. He played 14 games for Atlanta, averaging 3.1 points, 2.7 rebounds and 0.7 blocks in 11.1 minutes per contest. Overall, he appeared in 27 games last season, averaging 2.7 ppg and 3.0 role points and 0.9 ppg on 13.2 mpg.
In 122 regular season games, Koloko has NBA averages of 2.8 ppg, 2.8 ppg, 2.8 ppg and 0.8 ppg.
Despite having just one technical game in three NBA seasons, Koloko accumulated four years of service. This means that he is no longer entitled to a bilateral contract.