Brooklyn Nets: Greivis Vasquez Brings More Than Just Leadership

The Brooklyn Nets acquired Greivis Vasquez this offseason as a backup point guard to Jeremy Lin. As a six-year NBA veteran, Vasquez brings leadership, but he believes he can provide much more to the team.

Greivis Vasquez is an NBA journeyman. The Brooklyn Nets are Vasquez’s sixth team in the NBA, but this only shows that the 29-year-old guard has worked his way through various different environments in the league.

According to the New York Post, Vasquez believes that he can provide more than leadership to this young Nets squad.

"“I’m not done yet. I’m a vet that can produce,” Vasquez told the Post. “Don’t sleep on me. I work too hard to just be a regular guy that talks in the locker room. I bring leadership, but I’m also going to bring [production], and it’s going to be on the court by playing hard, fouling somebody, hitting a big shot like I did when I was in Toronto.”"

In the NBA, Vasquez has not necessarily had a consistent role on each of his teams. During his rookie season with the Memphis Grizzlies, he averaged the least playing time in his career, though he saw some more action in the 2011 NBA Playoffs.

His next (and most impressive) stint was with the New Orleans Hornets. Vasquez spent two seasons with the Hornets and posted the best numbers of his career: 11.6 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 7.4 assists per game. In the 2012-13 season, Vasquez led the NBA in total assists, and even finished second in voting for the Most Improved Player award. Still, he was traded the following offseason.

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He began the 2013-14 season as part of the Sacramento Kings, a team that is known for its chemistry problems. Then, he was traded midway into the season to the Toronto Raptors, who held an overloaded backcourt. Ironically, Toronto was ousted in the playoffs that year by the Nets, who were led by Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce.

Vasquez spent last season with the Milwaukee Bucks, but only participated in 23 games due to a right ankle injury.

Still, even with Vasquez coming off an injury and Vasquez’s inability to establish a clear role in the NBA, Nets head coach Kenny Atkinson isn’t deterred. Vasquez has much more to bring to Brooklyn that cannot be fully represented by his numbers.

"“It’s leadership, it’s veteran intelligence, he’s a system fit. He plays the way we want to play,” Atkinson said. “He understands the game at another level, and I also think he brings a toughness. Those are all the reasons we brought him in here.”"

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Oddly enough, Vasquez’s health hasn’t been a concern for Brooklyn, as Vasquez has been eager to play in the preseason, and rookie Caris LeVert is the only inactive Net. Nevertheless, it’s clear that the Nets brought Vasquez in for a variety of reasons, and his enthusiasm to put on a Nets uniform is only a good sign.