Will Barton Signs Contract with Russia’s CSKA Moscow; Last Played with Raptors in NBA
Scott Polacek@@ScottPolacekFeatured Columnist IVJanuary 29, 2024
Bart Young/NBAE via Getty Images
Will Barton is heading abroad after going unsigned to this point of the 2023-24 NBA season.
CSKA Moscow announced Monday it agreed to a contract with the veteran swingman.
CSKA Moscow @cskabasketđŽđ” Guard/forward @WillTheThrillB5 (33 years old, 196 cm) signed a contract with our club until the end of this season. The agreement will come into force after the basketball player undergoes a medical examination in Moscow.
More info: https://t.co/Vbq6cqelIz pic.twitter.com/Cg6smdWash
“First and foremost, I’m grateful for this opportunity to play for this team. I’ve heard nothing but good things about the club and the fans,” he said in the announcement. “I’m excited to meet my teammates, my coaches, the fans, the organization, & the great people of Moscow. I’m ready to put the time and effort in to compete and win at a high level. Can’t wait to get there and get started.
Barton joined the Toronto Raptors last February after he finished a buyout with the Washington Wizards.
Washington acquired the 33-year-old via a trade with the Denver Nuggets ahead of the 2022-23 season, but he never lived up to expectations during his brief time with the Eastern Conference team.
Barton played for the Portland Trail Blazers for the first two-plus years of his career and then spent parts of eight seasons on the Nuggets.
The Memphis product was an important scorer in Denver and averaged 14.0 points per game during his time there, including in 2017-18 when he posted a career-best 15.7 points per night. He was a solid three-point shooter (36.2 percent) with the Nuggets but was best known for his athleticism.
Barton participated in the 2016 Slam Dunk Contest and was a dangerous scorer when he attacked the basket off the bounce and cut in from the wing.
It was fair for the Wizards to have relatively high expectations for him as a role player coming into the 2022-23 campaign, but he didn’t start any of his 40 games and averaged just 7.7 points per night as he became more of an afterthought.
Part of the issue is some of the explosiveness that helped him at his peak isn’t there at this stage of his career, and he wasn’t much more than a bit-part player for the Raptors after they added him to the roster.
He averaged just 4.5 points, 1.6 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 16 games for Toronto last season.
Perhaps playing in Europe will help Barton rediscover his form and get him on the radars of NBA teams again.
