August 7: Parker’s one-year deal with Barcelona is now official, pending the results of his physical exam, the team announced in a press release.
August 6: Free agent forward and former lottery pick Jabari Parker is expected to ink a new deal with international club FC Barcelona, per Ramon Palomar of Sport.es.
Palomar notes that the 6’8″ power forward is being eyed as a positional replacement for longtime Barcelona star Nikola Mirotic, another former NBA vet (and one-time Parker teammate on the Bulls).
Lucas Clemente of Mundo Deportivo reports that Parker underwent a physical with the club earlier this week to ensure that his surgically repaired left knee is in good enough shape to compete.
The No. 2 pick out of Duke in 2014 never quite had the NBA career many pundits had pegged for him. Parker was affected by a pair of ACL tears in that left knee, in 2014 and 2017.
Never a great defender, his offense stalled out too following the injuries, as he lost some of his athletic burst. Through 310 regular season games with the Bucks, Bulls, Wizards, Hawks, Kings and Celtics, he holds career averages of 14.1 PPG, 5.5 RPG, 2.0 APG and 0.9 SPG. He last played in the NBA with Boston during the 2021/22 season.
Barcelona may not be done adding NBA alums. George Syrigos of Apex Sports notes that the Spanish club is rumored to also have interest in signing former title-winning shooting guard Bryn Forbes as a potential replacement for departing guard Cory Higgins.
The Bucks shouldn’t of drafted him. The Greek freak came out of nowhere and Parker started at PF. (6’8 maybe and added weight) he should of started at SF somewhere and maybe he could of had a better career. Maybe the injuries wouldn’t happen
Not sure he’ll be Barca’s answer in their search for a Messi replacement. Working alongside Lewandowski in the attack will be a tall order. Maybe his heading abilities could be useful on the defensive end, but he might lack the speed to dominate the fullback position.