Revisiting the Pondexter for Vasquez deal

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On Christmas Eve 2011, the same day Oklahoma City waived Nate Robinson in a move they surely now regret, Memphis and New Orleans orchestrated a deal that swapped guard Greivis Vasquez for forward Quincy Pondexter. Coincidentally, only one summer earlier the pair were selected two picks from each other in the 2010 draft -- Pondexter at 26 and Vasquez at 28.

Now a year-and-a-half since what seemed like a minor deal at the time, both young players are blossoming with their new teams.

The emergence of Vasquez is well-documented. In his first full season as New Orleans' starting point guard, Vasquez shined with averages of 13.9 PPG and 9.0 APG. For his efforts, he finished second in the NBA's Most Improved Player Award behind Indiana's Paul George.

Pondexter is only now starting to become more of a familiar name as he receives quality minutes off the bench for the Grizzlies in the playoffs. But as Tuesday night's game against OKC showed, Pondexter has carved out a nice role for himself as a long defender and corner 3-point shooter. In Memphis' Game 2 win over the Thunder, Pondexter stole the ball from Kevin Durant on back-to-back possessions and hit two momentum-building baskets in a matter of minutes -- a 17-foot baseline J after several offensive rebounds gave the Grizz new possessions, and a rhythm corner 3.

Who got the better end of the deal? It'd be hard not to say the Pelicans at this point. But the free agent signing of Jerryd Bayless to replace Vasquez as the backup point guard has panned out fairly well for Memphis, and it's hard to deny what Pondexter is doing as a solid player off the bench. As of today, the trade has worked out well for both teams.

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