Zenit, Baron agree to contract extension

Zenit St. Petersburg and sharpshooter Billy Baron put pen and paper together on a contract extension that will keep them together through the end of the 2022-23 season, the club announced on Friday. Baron (1.88 meters, 30 years old) originally signed a two-year deal with Zenit when he first joined last season. He averaged 9.6 points on 44.8% three-point shooting in 39 games mostly off the bench last season. Baron's 81 three-pointers were third-most in the league.

Baron started his professional basketball career with Lietuvos Rytas Vilnius of Lithuania, and also played for Spirou Charleroi of Belgium, UCAM Murcia of Spain and Eskisehir Basket of Turkey before joining Cvrena Zvezda Belgrade in 2018. He made his EuroLeague debut with Zvezda the following season. He led Zvezda to the Adriatic and Serbian League crowns in 2019. Baron has also been a member of the USA national team, with which he won a gold medal at the 2017 FIBA AmeriCup.

“My wife and son and I are looking forward to being a part of the Zenit family for two more years,” Baron said. “We love St. Petersburg, it's good that we managed to come to an agreement with the club. I look forward to working with Xavi Pascual and his coaching staff in the future to continue the success we had last season.”