Greivis Vasquez has put club (and paychecks) before country, which should go over very well in Sacramento.
The likely Kings starting point guard has decided not to play for his native Venezuela in the upcoming FIBA Americas tournament, instead focusing on recovering from off-season surgery to help the Kings next season, reports liderendeportes.com (via Hoopshype).
The report says that Vasquez has been cleared to get back on the court and be involved in basketball activities (lateral movements, pick-and-roll plays) but it will take him a little while to get up to speed. He’s not going to do that in a tournament setting.
This is good for the Kings, who will likely start Vasquez and will bring Isaiah Thomas off the bench, plus rookie Ray McCallum behind him. Oh, and Jimmer Fredette would like to get into that rotation, too.
But know part of this is financial — Vasquez is coming up on the end of his rookie deal. Technically he could get an extension this summer but more likely next summer he will be a restricted free agent. Have another strong season this year like he did in his last campaign (13.9 points and 9 assists a game, shooting 34.2 percent from three) and he will get paid pretty well. He can play. So long as he healthy.
