Following a brief stint in the NBA, guard Kevin Pangos has returned to Europe, having signed a contract with CSKA Moscow, the Russian club announced in a press release. The deal will run through 2024, according to the team.
Pangos, 29, headed overseas after going undrafted out of Gonzaga in 2015 and developed into one of Europe’s top point guards over the course of several seasons. In 2020/21, he averaged 13.5 PPG and 6.6 APG on .449/.390/.845 shooting in 39 EuroLeague contests (28.9 MPG) for Zenit Saint Petersburg, earning a spot on the All-EuroLeague First Team.
Pangos’ strong international play earned him a shot in the NBA in 2021/22, but he was unable to gain much traction after signing with Cleveland, appearing in just 24 games and logging just 6.9 minutes per contest. He averaged 1.6 PPG and 1.3 APG on .326/.231/.750 shooting in a reserve role for the Cavaliers.
Prior to this month’s trade deadline, rumors began circulating in international outlets that Pangos was on the verge of an agreement with CSKA Moscow, though the Cavs didn’t officially waive him until this past Saturday. Pangos cleared waivers on Monday and will now join a CSKA squad that is jockeying for playoff seeding in the EuroLeague — the team currently holds the No. 6 spot, with a 14-10 record.
Pangos will be one of several players on CSKA Moscow’s roster with NBA experience, joining the likes of Alexey Shved, Joel Bolomboy, and Tornike Shengelia.
Was really hoping he’d be a decent backup, but I hope he goes back to being a star in Europe
Think he’ll do well with Adams
He better buy a fall-out shelter once he gets to Moscow
Why is that?
Yup! My eyes bugged out when I read where he is going!
This is another prime example of someone being a star in Europe, than failing to accomplish anything in the NBA and being back to Europe on short notice. And there are people out there saying that there are Euroleague teams that would be able to beat an NBA team. How would they do that, when their best players are all nothing but scrubs on NBA level, if they ever manage to get into the league at all? Any NBA team would beat any Euroleague team by 50 if that’s a game where something is at stake.