Maccabi Tel Aviv completes Bonzie Colson return, but EuroLeague home games remain uncertain

Maccabi Tel Aviv finalized the deal to bring back Bonzie Colson overnight between Thursday and Friday, and the forward is expected to sign for two more seasons. The agreement should be announced officially in the coming days. Colson is set to earn about $3 million over the contract, while Maccabi will also pay Fenerbahce around 200,000 euros in compensation.

The Israeli club had been negotiating with Colson and his agent for months, after first reporting the talks at the start of May. Colson had told Maccabi he wanted to return, even as several other clubs also showed interest. In recent days, Maccabi decided it wanted him "with all the force" and pushed to complete the transfer.

Colson, 30, who stands 1.98 meters tall, originally joined Maccabi Tel Aviv in the summer of 2022 and played there for two seasons. In his first EuroLeague campaign he averaged 10.7 points and 5.6 rebounds, and in his second he improved to 12.6 points and 5.3 rebounds per game. He then moved to Fenerbahce and won the EuroLeague title there, although in a noticeably smaller role.

Maccabi also received less encouraging news on the question of playing EuroLeague home games in Israel. Despite optimism that the competition might signal by the start of the season at the end of September that games could return to Israel, the league said that is not currently on the table and that it will keep monitoring developments. Maccabi has been asked to present an alternative venue, as Hapoel Tel Aviv did with Sofia. The club still wants to keep using Belgrade, but management figures, including new owner Eric Stielman, want to consider other options, so no decision has been made yet.