Soon-to-be free agent Greivis Vasquez has signed with Octagon agent Alex Saratsis after leaving the Wasserman Media Group, reports Liz Mullen of the SportsBusiness Journal (Twitter link). Darren Matsubara had been the representative for the Bucks backup point guard, and for Joel Embiid, who also recently left Wasserman and is reportedly expected to sign with Leon Rose. The departure of Vasquez represents another hit for an agency in transition following the departure of Arn Tellem for a job in the Pistons organization last year.
Vasquez is recovering from right ankle surgery in December that’s poised to keep him out for most of the rest of the season. He was averaging his fewest points per game since his rookie season in 16 contests before the injury, so Saratsis seems likely to face a difficult challenge to equal or better the two-year, $13MM deal Vasquez signed in 2014. Saturday is Vasquez’s 29th birthday, and the memory of his 9.0 assists per game for New Orleans in 2012/13 is receding farther into the past.
Saratsis represents many clients from outside the U.S., including fellow Buck Giannis Antetokounmpo, so he’s a fit for the Venezuelan-born Vasquez in that regard. The four-year, $8MM deal for Kendall Marshall that Saratsis and fellow Octagon agent Jeff Austin helped him find is the largest free agent contract the Sixers have handed out since GM Sam Hinkie came aboard in 2013, and it came after Marshall suffered a torn ACL while playing for the Bucks last season. Vasquez might be loath to settle for $2MM a year, but the Marshall precedent nonetheless seems encouraging.