Greivis Vasquez

New York Notes: Randle, Knicks, Nets, Vasquez

Chasson Randle‘s odds of landing a 15-man roster spot with the Knicks won’t be affected by the injury he suffered during a Friday practice, according to head coach Jeff Hornacek. As Zach Braziller of The New York Post details, Randle will be given the chance to make the team despite sustaining a left orbital fracture. “We kind of understand what he can give us as a player,” Hornacek said. “It would’ve been nice to see him against [Celtics guard] Isaiah [Thomas] in those two Boston games, see how he can do. But, again, we have a pretty good feel for him.”

Here’s more out of New York on a couple more new Knicks who are making a good impression, along with some Nets notes:

Eastern Notes: Nets, Cavaliers, Wizards

Beau Beech’s long-range shooting ability gives him a chance to stick with the Nets, according to an in-depth analysis by NetsDaily.com’s Bryan Fonseca. The 6’9” Beech, who went undrafted out of the University of North Florida, received a partially guaranteed contract from Brooklyn. Beech’s main attribute is his jumper and he’s supremely confident when he sets up beyond the arc, Fonseca’s film study reveals. He should be very effective in transition but doesn’t create his own shot very much, Fonseca continues. If Beech can become a defensive factor, he can play in the league, though he’ll likely spend most of next season in the D League, Fonseca adds.

In other news around the Eastern Conference:

  • Nets guard Greivis Vasquez has pulled out of the Rio Olympics for medical reasons, NetsDaily.com relayed via Vasquez’s Twitter account. Vasquez underwent ankle surgery over the winter and missed most of the season while on the Bucks’ roster. Vasquez, who was on the Venezuelan team, did not indicate if he would be ready by training camp, NetsDaily adds. Vasquez, who is expected to back up Jeremy Lin, signed a one-year deal with Brooklyn on July 13th.
  • The Cavaliers allowed two trade exceptions to expire, Sam Amico of AmicoHoops.net reports. The exceptions were created when they dealt Mike Miller and Brendan Haywood to the Trail Blazers last summer. The exception created by trading Miller was worth $2.8MM, while Haywood’s exception was originally $10.5MM. There was only $2.3MM remaining on Haywood’s exception, as the Cavs used the bulk of it to acquire Channing Frye from the Magic at the trade deadline.
  • The Wizards don’t plan on paying any more players to attend training camp, according to J. Michael of CSNMidatlantic.com. Washington’s front office will only offer non-guaranteed camp deals, Michael continues, because they already have four players on partially-guaranteed contracts to go along with a dozen more on fully guaranteed deals. Jarell Eddie, Danuel House, Sheldon McClellan and Daniel Ochefu are the players with partial guarantees. Center Micheal Eric, who played on the Wizards’ summer league team, is unlikely to attend their camp because he’s looking for guaranteed money, Michael adds.

Nets Sign Greivis Vasquez

JULY 13, 10:15pm: The Nets have officially signed Vasquez, the team announced today in a press release.Greivis Vasquez vertical

JULY 10, 8:56pm: Greivis Vasquez has agreed to a one-year deal with the Nets, tweets The Vertical’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Vasquez missed most of the 2015/16 season after undergoing surgery on his right ankle in December.

Vasquez appeared in 29 games for the Bucks this year, all as a reserve. He averaged 5.7 points and 4.0 assists in 20.0 minutes of playing time. Vasquez has also been with the Grizzlies, Hornets, Kings and Raptors during his six seasons in the NBA.

He joins a Brooklyn team that also added point guard Jeremy Lin through free agency and may be seeking more backcourt help after offer sheets to Allen Crabbe and Tyler Johnson were matched earlier today.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Contract Details: Plumlee, Rodriguez, Vasquez

Here’s the latest contract details and notes from around the league:

Eastern Notes: Lin, Novak, Mayo, Vasquez, Jefferson

Jeremy Lin was convinced he would sign with the Mavericks for the room exception this past summer, as he told Dan Feldman of ProBasketballTalk, but Dallas turned away when DeAndre Jordan reneged on his commitment to the Mavs, leading the point guard to turn to the Hornets instead. “Charlotte came out of nowhere,” Lin said. “Had I known it was going to go down the way it went down, I would’ve definitely planned things a little differently.” 

Lin enjoys his Hornets teammates, but no guarantee exists that he’ll be back with them next season, since he can opt out of his contract. No team gave a higher percentage of its minutes after the trade deadline to players who can hit free agency this summer, Feldman points out, but Charlotte has been successful because of an unusual bond between the players, as Feldman details. Al Jefferson conceded that he probably wouldn’t have accepted a reduced role during a contract year if he were younger but said he’s never been on a team quite like this one in Charlotte.

See more from the Eastern Conference:

  • Steve Novak wants to re-sign with the Bucks after a brief, injury-shortened time in Milwaukee this season, and coach Jason Kidd indicated that the feeling is mutual as the team seeks to improve its shooting, notes Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “Novak is a guy we thought was going to help in that [shooting] department,” Kidd said. “Hopefully we can re-sign him. We liked what he did briefly on the floor, but we also enjoyed what he did for us off the floor, even being hurt. That’s what a vet does. We would all love to have him back. That kind of threat is what we need as a team to have any kind of success.”
  • Gardner suggests in the same piece that the Bucks want to move on from O.J. Mayo and Greivis Vasquez but have better regard for Jerryd Bayless. All three will hit free agency in July.
  • Richard Jefferson‘s contribution in Game 1 was subtle but important and showed the value of his signing this past offseason for the Cavaliers, observe Michael Beaven 
and George Thomas of the Akron Beacon Journal.

Bucks Notes: Howard, Antetokounmpo, Knight

If the Bucks are looking to make a splash in free agency for the second straight summer, Dwight Howard could be the player to target, writes Tim Bontemps of The Washington Post. The Rockets’ center has expressed his intention to turn down a player option for next season worth $23.282MM and seek a maximum contract starting at about $30MM. Milwaukee was among the teams that expressed interest in acquiring him before last month’s trade deadline, and Howard said he was intrigued by the possibility. Bontemps believes Howard would be the kind of defensive anchor that Greg Monroe failed to become after he signed with the Bucks last offseason. Depending where the salary cap is set, Milwaukee could have more than $20MM to spend if it doesn’t re-sign Jerryd Bayless, Greivis Vasquez and O.J. Mayo.

There’s more news out of Milwaukee:

  • Giannis Antetokounmpo could be in line for a maximum contract extension over the summer, Bontemps writes in the same piece. Coach Jason Kidd recently anointed Antetokounmpo as the Bucks’ starting point guard for next season, and the franchise could reward him with a max deal. At age 21, the third-year pro has blossomed in Milwaukee, averaging 18.5 points, 8.8 rebounds, 7.3 assists, 1.6 steals and 1.9 blocks per game since the All-Star break.
  • The Bucks had to make a choice last season between giving a long-term contract to Khris Middleton or Brandon Knight, according to Charles F. Gardner of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Milwaukee shipped Knight to Phoenix in a three-team trade in February of 2015 and re-signed Middleton at $70MM over five years. “We had a good time while we played,” said Knight, who on Wednesday returned to Milwaukee for his first game there since the deal. “I think we [the Bucks] were just scratching the surface. Who knows where we could have went to?”
  • Wednesday marked the first game for Vasquez since November 27th, Gardner notes in a separate story. The backup point guard had surgery on his right ankle in December and was sidelined for 58 games. “You miss that many games, and the coach gives you an opportunity to play the game that you love, it means a lot to me,” Vasquez said. “It also shows what a class act this franchise is, because they’ve been with me the whole time.” Vasquez is headed toward free agency after earning $6.6MM this season.

Central Notes: Vasquez, Beyer, Felicio,

Greivis Vasquez, who underwent ankle surgery in December, has yet to receive medical clearance to return to game action, but the point guard was able to join his teammates Friday in the shootaround prior to the game that night against the Hawks, Charles F. Gardner of the Journal Sentinel relays. The Bucks acquired Vasquez during the 2015 draft in exchange for a protected first round pick. He only saw 16 games of action prior the injury and he will be a free agent at the end of the season.

Here’s more from the Central Division:

  • Pistons coach/executive Stan Van Gundy believes assistant coach Bob Beyer would make a great head coach should Beyer receive an opportunity, David Mayo of MLive writes. “He’s outstanding,” Van Gundy said. “I mean, in every aspect. He’s a great X-and-O guy; he’s a great teacher; really organized; knows the league; and he’s got great rapport with the players.”
  • Cristiano Felicio‘s contract with the Bulls next season is non-guaranteed for roughly $875K, but Sam Smith of NBA.com believes the Brazilian big man will remain on the roster next season. Smith cites the uncertainty around Pau Gasol‘s and Joakim Noah‘s impending free agency as reason for the optimism.

Central Notes: Vasquez, Harris, Harper, LeBron

Greivis Vasquez is determined to return to game action before season’s end, calling the Bucks a “class act” for their assistance as he rehabilitates from the right ankle surgery he had three months ago today, as Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel details. Vasquez, who hired agent Alex Saratsis of Octagon earlier this year, is headed for free agency this summer and argues the injury didn’t have a net effect on the contract he’ll be able to command.

“I feel I didn’t lose value, but I didn’t gain value,” Vasquez said. “I feel people know what I can do. My game is not based on athleticism. I’m not jumping over guys. It’s an IQ game. I wasn’t able to do what I usually do, being limited with my injury. Surgery was needed. Now I feel much better. The team I want to show that I’m healthy is this team. Because every team I’ve been with, I got that team better. I was in Toronto; we got better. New Orleans, we got better. Memphis, we got better.”

Vasquez, an offseason trade acquisition, has appeared in only 16 games for the disappointing Bucks this season. See more from the Central Division:

  • Stan Van Gundy expected it would be challenging to integrate Tobias Harris into the Pistons, as the coach usually expects in the wake of a trade, but it’s been a smooth transition so far, Van Gundy told Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today Sports. That’s been especially so after Van Gundy switched Harris to power forward after a brief experiment with him at small forward, the coach also said. “He’s unselfish. He’s been efficient,” Van Gundy told Zillgitt. “He hasn’t needed an inordinate amount of shots to get his stuff done. He moves the ball pretty well. It’s actually been pretty easy.”
  • Justin Harper‘s second 10-day contract with the Pistons expired overnight, so the backup power forward is now a free agent. The Pistons would have to sign him for the rest of the season if they were to bring him back, since two 10-day deals are the limit.
  • LeBron James usually doesn’t make comments that cast a harsh light on fellow members of the Klutch Sports Agency, but he praised Cavs deadline pickup Channing Frye for his willingness to tangle with Klutch client Trey Lyles in Monday’s game, an incident that prompted ejections for both Frye and Lyles, notes Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com.

Central Rumors: Cavs, Meeks, Vasquez

All-Star small forward LeBron James, point guard Kyrie Irving and power forward Kevin Love admitted fault of their own even as they laid out expectations for their teammates during a sometimes contentious players-only meeting the Cavs had in the immediate wake of David Blatt’s firing, as reported by Dave McMenamin, Brian Windhorst and Zach Lowe of ESPN.com. Accountability and double standards were key issues in the meeting that GM David Griffin asked reserve shooting guard James Jones to organize, as McMenamin, Windhorst and Lowe detail. The net effect appears to have been positive, based on the team’s 4-1 record since and the input a pair of sources gave the ESPN scribes.

In other news around the Central Division:

  • Pistons shooting guard Jodie Meeks has suffered a setback during his rehab from a broken right foot, David Mayo of MLive.com tweets. Meeks met Monday with surgeon Martin O’Malley, who determined that the foot had not fully healed, Mayo continues. Meeks must stop practicing, which he began doing last week, and he also has to cut his rehab activity, Mayo adds. Meeks was expected to miss 12-16 weeks after he was injured during the team’s home opener but the club was hopeful of getting him back by the All-Star break.
  • Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy, who is also the team’s president of basketball operations, doubts he would trade for a player that becomes an unrestricted free agent after the season, Rod Beard of the Detroit News reports. Detroit has been linked to Pelicans power forward Ryan Anderson, who is in his walk year, but Van Gundy doesn’t want to mortgage the future for a player who might depart after this season. “I’m not willing to yield an asset right now — even for a guy I really like — if he’s unrestricted and we could lose him in the summer for nothing,” Van Gundy told the team’s beat reporters. “That would be a step back in our building, even if it’s a minor one. We’re not going to give up a pick for a guy. If we were going to make a trade, it would be a for a guy who’s still got contract time left after next year, that we know we’d have.”
  • Bucks point guard Greivis Vasquez expects to play again this season, Charles Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reports. Vasquez, who underwent right ankle injury in mid-December, is not close to returning but Vasquez remains optimistic, as he told Gardner. “I didn’t play the way I wanted to, but I needed to get healthy,” he said. “I know I’m going to come back before the season is over. Hopefully, we rack up a few wins and I can help.”

Greivis Vasquez Changes Agents

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.