It was reported here at Project Spurs that San Antonio Spurs 2009 draftee Nando De Colo was set to sign with Barcelona after this season with Valencia which would have all but ended any possibility of 
him joining the Spurs anytime soon.
However, according to Spanish site Encestando, De Colo will be joining the Spurs next season.
Nando Colo most likely played his last game last night in the League Endesa. We expect that the (he will join) the San Antonio Spurs, which is the franchise that has his rights. The deal closed for weeks and only awaiting official confirmation and Valencia Basket does know.
The report goes on to state that the French guard will play an exhibition game in Spain with Barcelona and Madrid but will eventually join San Antonio.
In his last game with Valencia Basket, Nando finished with 22 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists in the ACB tournament losing to FCB Regal 3-1 in their semi finals series.
If the report is true then this shakes things up at the guard spot. De Colo doesn’t have much quickness but can handle the ball, can find the open player, and could prove to be an adequate backup for Tony Parker. Also, he is a big guard at 6’5″ which is an advantage the team would like to have.
This season with Valencia, Nando shot 46.2% from the field, 36% from the three-point line, averaged 3 rebounds, 13.5 points, 2.9 assists, 1.5 steals, but did turn the ball over 2.1 times a game. That’s not a good assist-to-turnover ratio for a point guard.
However, if the team decides to make him the backup point guard, then what will happen to Gary Neal who is a free agent after this season and has been used as a point guard at times? James Anderson is probably not going to be with the team next season (since the Spurs did not pick up his option this season) so perhaps this just pushes Neal back to the shooting guard role. Also, Cory Joseph should improve next season with a full training camp under his belt and with a full 82-game season but will DeColo, a player who has been playing professionally for year, stunt Cory’s development?
There is the option the Spurs could send him to the Toros should he still need to work on his game before stepping foot on an NBA court.
Moreover, Parker and De Colo will be playing together this summer for the French national team for the 2012 Olympic games so do not expect him to be playing with the Spurs’ Summer League team with him training for the Olympics.
One this is for sure, should De Colo join San Antonio, the team sure will have the French fan market cornered with the possibility of the Spurs having three French players (Parker, Boris Diaw, and De Colo) on the roster next season.
What do you have to say Spurs fans? Chime on in.
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