Spain star Fran Vazquez has made a shock move to Winterthur Barcelona after just one season at Akasvayu Girona.

The 209 cm center, who surprisingly turned down a move to the NBA last summer after being selected 11th in the draft by the Orlando Magic, has signed a four-year contract with the option of a fifth with the Catalan giants.

Vazquez was included in Pepu Hernandez's preliminary squad for next month's FIBA World Championship but a back injury ruled him out of the tournament.

The 23-year-old played a key role in Spain's fourth-place finish at last year's EuroBasket in Belgrade, which sealed their qualification for this year's big event in the Far East.

Vazquez joins a Barcelona team looking to bounce back from a disappointing season.

The Catalan giants appointed Dusko Ivanovic as coach and brought in several leading international stars, including Italians Denis Marconato and Gianluca Basile and Greece captain Michalis Kakiouzis, but lost in the semi-finals of the ACB play-offs and also lost both games at the Euroleague Final Four in Prague.

Ivanovic and director Zoran Savic have been busy with the team this summer, having already added Slovenia point guard Jaka Lakovic and rising Croatia star Roko Leni Ukic.