DALLAS – The New Orleans Pelicans’ surprising Draft-day trade for All-Star point guard Jrue Holiday relegated the outgoing Greivis Vasquez to a mere footnote. Holiday took a major leap forward last season in Philadelphia with his first All-Star selection and Vasquez’s own career year in NOLA shouldn’t be dismissed so casually.
As part of the three-team trade, Vasquez landed in Sacramento. The Kings finished one game ahead of New Orleans in the Western Conference standings last season, both miles from playoff contention. Each franchise though is pushing the refresh button with reasons for fresh attitudes and big dreams. Still, significant improvements and luck are needed for either team to join the playoff mix this season. At any rate, it will be interesting to monitor the progress of the passionate Vasquez, third in the league in assists per game (9.0) last season, and the super-confident Holiday as they direct their new teams.
New Orleans general manager Dell Demps has called the 6-foot-4 Holiday “the ideal fit for our team,” believing the 23-year-old Southern Californian has the higher ceiling than the Venezuelan-born Vasquez, who turns 27 in January. The benefactor of Philadelphia’s $43-million extension, New Orleans has Holiday locked up through the 2016-17 season at a pleasing price, a bargain if he blossoms into a perennial All-Star candidate (of course, the 2014 All-Star Game is in New Orleans).
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