Greivis Vasquez Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Bucks Pursuing Eric Bledsoe, Greivis Vasquez

July 5th, 2014 at 2:12pm CST by Charlie Adams

In addition to considering a possible trade for Jeremy Lin, the Bucks are pursuing restricted free agents Eric Bledsoe and Greivis Vasquez, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com (on Twitter). Milwaukee is in the process of pitching an offer sheet to Bledsoe, says Stein, but the Suns will be able to match whatever the Bucks present to the 24-year-old if they truly intend on retaining him as they’ve stated.

We heard yesterday afternoon that Vasquez and the Raptors were close to a deal that would bring the point guard back to Toronto, so Milwaukee’s pursuit might be in vain. However a lucrative enough offer from the Bucks might derail talks between Vasquez and the Raptors, since nothing official has reportedly been agreed upon.

The Bucks made a deal for Brandon Knight last summer and also roster Nate Wolters, but bringing aboard a talented young guard certainly couldn’t stand to hurt Milwaukee, the NBA’s worst team in 2013/14. Still, such a scenario seems unlikely given that each restricted free agent’s respective club seems intent on matching any offer sheets set to be presented.

Raptors Nearing Deal With Greivis Vasquez

July 4th, 2014 at 2:13pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Raptors are coming close to a deal with restricted free agent Greivis Vasquez, reports Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun. An agreement with the point guard would allow the Raptors to retain the top three free agents from last season’s roster, having already come to terms with Kyle Lowry and Patrick Patterson.

Vasquez said in May that it would be “heartbreaking” if he didn’t wind up returning to the team. Toronto’s brass nonetheless worried it wouldn’t be able to swing deals for both him and Patterson after the leaguewide market began bearing high-priced contract agreements earlier this week. Still, there haven’t been reports linking Vasquez to any other NBA club since the start of free agency.

The Arn Tellem client had his breakout season in 2012/13, averaging 13.9 points and 9.0 assists per contest as the starter in New Orleans, but he was a backup for both Sacramento and Toronto this season amid a pair of trades. He notched just 9.5 PPG and 3.7 APG in 21.5 minutes per game behind Lowry on the Raptors this past season, but it appears he’s about to commit to remaining a reserve for the foreseeable future.

And-Ones: Gasol, Knicks, Lakers, Marion

July 3rd, 2014 at 10:08pm CST by Eddie Scarito

There won’t be a decision from Pau Gasol anytime soon as to where he will be signing, reports David Aldridge of NBA.com. This is despite the pleas and pitches he has received from Carmelo Anthony and numerous teams, notes Aldridge.

And-Ones: Raptors, Mayo, Prince, Lin, Rivers

July 2nd, 2014 at 1:22pm CST by Chuck Myron

I appeared Tuesday on WWL radio’s Sports Talk With Bobby Hebert and Deke Bellavia in New Orleans to discuss NBA free agency, and already the tenor of the market is taking shape. Lucrative deals for shooting guards Jodie Meeks, Avery Bradley and Ben Gordon have dominated headlines so far, and Gordon’s deal in particular has many free agents optimistic about their own market values, as Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders tweets. The Raptors were already worried they were being priced out of retaining restricted free agents Greivis Vasquez and Patrick Patterson before news of the Gordon deal hit, according to Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun (Twitter link). Here’s more from around the league.

Executives from multiple teams have been offered O.J. Mayo of the Bucks, Tayshaun Prince of the Grizzlies, Jeremy Lin of the Rockets, and Austin Rivers of the Pelicans in trade scenarios, league sources tell tell Kennedy.
The Pacers have reached out to Rodney Stuckey, tweets Candace Buckner of the Indianapolis Star. He’s presumably a backup plan in case the team can’t reach a deal with Lance Stephenson.
The Warriors could have signed Stuckey, who was willing to sign with the club for the mid-level exception, but they gave that money to Shaun Livingston instead, according to Marcus Thompson of the Bay Area News Group (Twitter link).
Spencer Hawes “likes everything about the Blazers” and is “very interested” in signing with them, a source tells The Oregonian’s Joe Freeman. Portland has made Hawes their top target among sharpshooting big men, but he’s still in no rush to come to deal, Freeman writes.
Vince Carter is receiving a steady stream of pitches from the Heat and others, but the Mavs maintain strong interest in re-signing the swingman, according to Shams Charania of RealGM (Twitter link).
The Magic claimed Willie Green off waivers Monday, and while they still had the chance to put him back on waivers before his non-guaranteed minimum salary became fully guaranteed, they didn’t do so before Tuesday’s deadline, so his money will stay on the books.

Zach Links contributed to this post.

Eastern Notes: Irving, Nets, Bucks, Raptors

June 30th, 2014 at 2:29pm CST by Chuck Myron

David Blatt‘s hiring as Cavs coach elicited conversations between Kyrie Irving and the team that were more positive in tone than any others to date, a source tells Chris Broussard of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Cavs officials are heading to Irving’s home in New Jersey to present a max extension offer to Irving as soon as the extension window opens tonight, as Broussard notes, confirming a report from earlier this month (Twitter link). Here’s more from around the Eastern Conference:

The Nets and Bucks won’t be able to trade with each other during 2014/15 as a result of the Jason Kidd deal, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (on Twitter).
Some in the Raptors organization are concerned that teams will make offers to Kyle Lowry and Greivis Vasquez at figures that Toronto is unwilling to match, according to Doug Smith of the Toronto Star.
The Raptors failed to waive Tyler Hansbrough by the Sunday guarantee date listed in his contract, so his partial guarantee of $1MM for next season has become a fully guaranteed $3,326,235 salary.
The Wizards had been making Martell Webster available in trade talk before his back surgery, which likely torpedoed movement toward any deal, reports Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link).
Washington reciprocates Garrett Temple‘s interest in returning, sources tell J. Michael of CSNWashington.com, who deems the point guard’s return to the Wizards as likely.
Soon-to-be restricted free agent Ekpe Udoh has changed agents, going with Brandon Grier and Michael Silverman of Athlete Management Group, USA Today’s Sam Amick tweets. The Bucks big man had previously been with Chris Luchey of CGL Sports.

Raptors Extend Offers To Vasquez, Patterson

June 28th, 2014 at 11:51am CST by Cray Allred

11:51am: The team has announced that a qualifying offer for each player has been officially extended.

11:07am: The Raptors will extend qualifying offers to Greivis Vasquez, Patrick Patterson, and Nando De Colo today, tweets Doug Smith of The Toronto Star. The players will all become restricted free agents as a result of the offers, giving Toronto the right to match any offers they secure on the open market.

Both Vasquez and Patterson were acquired as pieces in the Rudy Gay trade with Sacramento this season. Vasquez, who has played well as both a starter and backup in his short career, triggered an increased qualifying offer of $4.7MM. Patterson, a steady rotation big who excels as a shooter, will receive a reduced offer at roughly $4.3MM.

De Colo’s offer will be roughly $1.8MM. De Colo arrived in Toronto via a trade deadline deal with the Spurs, and played limited minutes as a backup wing. All three will assuredly seek more lucrative offers from other teams for Toronto to match or decline, as qualifying offers will remain on the table during that process.

Berger’s Draft Notes: Cavs, Saric, Magic

June 21st, 2014 at 9:35pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Cavs are leaning towards selecting Jabari Parker with the first-overall pick, writes Ken Berger of CBSSports.com. He cites Parker being more NBA ready as the reason behind that pick.

And-Ones: Draft, Lakers, Free Agency

June 7th, 2014 at 10:21pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The full list of available free agents won’t be complete until the end of June when players and teams decide whether or not to exercise their respective contract options, writes Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders. Pincus breaks down all the players with options and gives his predictions for who will end up on the free agent market come July.

More news from around the league:

Bob Finnan of The Morning Journal released his first mock draft of the year.
The staff at Basketball Insiders debate which draft prospect will have the biggest impact next season.
Jabari Davis of Basketball Insiders looks at the free agent options the Lakers will have this summer. Davis notes that the team should have a particular interest in Trevor Ariza, Kyle Lowry, and Greivis Vasquez.

Draft Updates: Saric, Celtics, Lakers, Raptors

May 29th, 2014 at 11:01am CST by Chuck Myron

It’s unclear whether early entrant Dario Saric wants to play in the NBA next season or remain in Europe, but if either the Celtics or Lakers draft him, he plans to come stateside, reports David Pick of Eurobasket.com (Twitter link). Most projections have him going a little lower than Boston’s No. 6 pick or L.A.’s No. 7 pick, but perhaps the knowledge of his immediate willingness to play will prompt one of those teams to bite. Here’s the latest from a busy draft workout scene:

Raptors GM Masai Ujiri is open to trading up in the draft and praised Toronto native Tyler Ennis, whom the team had in for a workout today, notes Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun (on Twitter). The free agency of Kyle Lowry and Greivis Vasquez won’t play into Ujiri’s decision about drafting a point guard, the GM added.
The Raptors released their workout list for today on their website, and they’re auditioning Jake Odum, Jordan Dykstra, Norvel Pelle, Jordan Bachynski and Chadrack Lufile in addition to names that have already been reported.
Casey Prather is the new name among those working out for the Heat today, as Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com tweets.
Goodman adds DeAndre Kane and David Wear to the list of players auditioning for the Suns (Twitter link).
Billy Baron has shown off for the Bulls and Hawks and will do so for the Jazz, Bucks and Knicks next week, Goodman hears (Twitter link).
Kendall Williams is among the players working out for Hawks today, Goodman tweets.
Victor Rudd and Jakarr Sampson are the new names on the list of players working out for the Bucks today that the team announced on its website.

Raptors Notes: Casey, Lowry, Vasquez, Patterson

May 6th, 2014 at 12:00pm CST by Chuck Myron

Raptors coach Dwane Casey and GM Masai Ujiri held a joint press conference today, an hour or so after the Raptors released a statement confirming that Casey and the team have an agreement in principle on a new three-year contract. Casey and Ujiri touched on that deal and other offseason priorities for Toronto, as we detail:

Ujiri tried to engage Casey in talks about an extension while the team was treading water early in the season, but the coach decided to leave that discussion until after the season, notes Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun. Casey didn’t think about testing the market once the season was over, believing it would have been disingenuous for him to do so, Wolstat adds (Twitter links).
Keeping free agent point guard Kyle Lowry is indeed a key priority for the team, Ujiri said, suggesting that Lowry’s affection for the Raptors will make negotiations easier, tweets Michael Grange of Sportsnet. Casey had each player sign a document after the All-Star break stating their commitment to the team, and Lowry was the first to sign, observes Doug Smith of the Toronto Star (Twitter link).
Ujiri said the team’s primary focus will be on keeping its own free agents and retaining the core of the team, as Smith and Wolstat pass along (Twitter links). Grange gets the sense that the Raptors intend to re-sign Greivis Vasquez and Patrick Patterson, both of whom will hit restricted free agency this summer (Twitter link).
Casey identified Vasquez as a cornerstone and called him perhaps the most confident player on the team, according to Grange (on Twitter).
Size on the wing and maybe a shot blocker are the team’s most significant needs, Ujiri said, but the GM cautions that he’ll allow the Raptors to grow gradually and won’t look for a quick fix, as Grange notes in a pair of tweets.