Raptors news: Fred VanVleet discusses his departure from Toronto, and an oft-injured veteran returns
The Toronto Raptors welcomed back familiar faces such as Scottie Barnes and Pascal Siakam for their annual Media Day festivities, but familiar presence and de facto team leader Fred VanVleet was not present. VanVleet agreed to terms with Ime Udoka’s Houston Rockets on a max contract.
While VanVleet is eager to take on the job of restoring one of the league’s most dormant organizations into a winner in recent years, he hasn’t forgotten his roots in the NBA. VanVleet is thinking back on his previous team.
“Those guys are family,” VanVleet, 29, told KMBE in Houston. “Those relationships will be life-long.” The culture on which Toronto has built a champion, according to VanVleet, was the most difficult thing to leave behind.
“I play with my heart, and I love hard, and just how committed I was to being a Raptor, the pride I took in winning a championship, being there and playing for that organization,” VanVleet said. “Definitely a tough decision to make to leave that.” Time will tell whether he can thrive in his new surroundings.
According to sources, Fred VanVleet is leaving the Raptors to join the Rockets on a three-year, $130 million US contract.
The reported contract is the NBA’s highest ever for an undrafted player.
The Toronto Raptors have said goodbye to sturdy point guard Fred VanVleet, re-signed center Jakob Poeltl, and welcomed German guard Dennis Schröder.
According to various reports on Friday, VanVleet is leaving the Raptors after seven seasons and signing a three-year, $130 million US contract with the Houston Rockets.
VanVleet earned an NBA Summer League contract with the Raptors after going undrafted out of Wichita State in 2016 and progressively progressed through the club’s ranks to become an epitome of Toronto’s excellent player development.
The Rockford, Illinois native advanced from G League champion to NBA champion and all-star.
VanVleet was a key contributor to the Raptors’ 2019 championship run, scoring 22 points in Game 6 against the Golden State Warriors, 12 of which came in the fourth quarter.
He filled the point-guard vacuum left by club legend Kyle Lowry in 2021-22, earning all-star honors with a career-high 20.3 points per game.
The 29-year-old is now rumored to be signing the NBA’s highest contract for an undrafted player in history.
VanVleet averaged 19.3 points and 7.2 assists last season as Toronto ended 41-41 and missed the playoffs following a play-in loss to the Chicago Bulls.
VanVleet, who was actively embroiled in trade rumors at last season’s trade deadline, renounced his $22.8-million player option to enter free agency two weeks ago.
He joins a Rockets squad that hasn’t won more than 22 games in the last three seasons but is loaded with young talent, including guard Jalen Green, forward Jabari Smith Jr., and center Alperen Sengun.
The Raptors acted quickly to replace VanVleet, reportedly signing Schröder to a two-year, $26 million contract.
Schröder led the Lakers with 12.6 points and 4.5 assists per game while shooting 32.9 percent from three-point range.
The 29-year-old has previously worked in Atlanta, Oklahoma City, Los Angeles, Boston, and Houston.
Despite losing VanVleet, the Raptors were able to keep one of their free agents.
Poeltl is said to have agreed to a four-year, $80-million contract with a player option for the final season.
Last season, the 27-year-old averaged 13.1 points, 9.1 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks in 26 games with Toronto.
At last season’s trade deadline, the Raptors acquired Poeltl from the San Antonio Spurs in exchange for Khem Birch, a protected 2024 first-round pick, and two future seconds.
Poeltl, who was picked ninth overall by Toronto in 2016, was moved to San Antonio along with DeMar DeRozan in 2018 to obtain Kawhi Leonard.
Many significant names remain.
The majority of the big players stayed put on the first night of free agency, including Kyrie Irving, Draymond Green, Khris Middleton, Kyle Kuzma, and others.
Irving and Luka Doncic are going to try again together in Dallas. Green is going to chase more championships with Stephen Curry in Golden State, just like Middleton is alongside Giannis Antetokounmpo in Milwaukee.
The biggest deals, in terms of total value, had to wait until after midnight EDT — when the calendar flipped to July 1 for the start of a new league year.
Haliburton, Bane agree to max extensions
ESPN first reported that Indiana’s Tyrese Haliburton and Memphis’ Desmond Bane both agreed to max extensions that will begin in the 2024-25 season; exact figures won’t be known until next season’s salary cap is released, but based on projections, they’ll be worth at least $207 million for five years.
Haliburton’s deal, ESPN said, could be worth $260 million if it goes to a supermax based on his making an All-NBA team. Haliburton was an all-star this past season for the Pacers, and Bane had a breakout year — averaging 21.5 points for the Grizzlies.
Irving agreed to a three-year, $126 million deal to remain with the Mavericks, who acquired him in a splashy move in February but sputtered down the stretch and missed the playoffs. A person with knowledge of the negotiations confirmed the agreement to The Associated Press, the deal taking quite possibly the biggest name in free agency off the board.
The Mavs had made clear that keeping Irving was their top priority — and got it done in the first hour of the NBA’s free agency window that opened at 6 p.m. EDT.
Grant is getting $160 million over the next five years, part of a plan that Portland hopes keeps Damian Lillard happy enough to not ask for a trade. Grant is staying put, as is Kuzma in Washington and Cam Johnson in Brooklyn.
Kuzma essentially doubled his annual salary, agreeing to a $102 million, four-year deal with the Wizards. Green got a new contract that’ll pay him $100 million over four seasons with the Warriors. Both of those deals — first reported by ESPN and subsequently confirmed to AP by people with knowledge of the negotiations — got done very quickly once the off-season player movement window opened.
Kuzma had opted out of a contract that would have paid him $13 million in Washington this coming season; he’ll now average $25.5 million over the next four years after scoring 21.2 points per game this past season.
Middleton also traded bigger salary in the short term for more years. He could have made $40 million this coming season; instead, he agreed to $102 million over three years to stay with Antetokounmpo and a Bucks team that’s only two years removed from an NBA championship.
Johnson — who flourished and averaged 16.6 points in 25 games with Brooklyn after getting traded there this past season — is getting a four-year, $108 million deal from the Nets, agent Steve Heumann of CAA confirmed to AP.
New Orleans also saw one of its key players stay put; defensive standout Herb Jones agreed to a four-year, $54 million contract.
The reigning NBA champion Denver Nuggets lost a free agent they wanted to keep, with Bruce Brown agreeing to sign with Indiana, a person with knowledge told AP, on a two-year deal that could be worth $45 million. There is an option affecting the second year.
Lakers sign Vincent
The team that Denver beat for that title, the Miami Heat, also lost a key player from their club. Gabe Vincent agreed to a three-year, $33 million deal to join LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers — who went to the Western Conference finals before falling to the Nuggets. The Lakers also kept Rui Hachimura on a three-year deal worth about $50 million.
The Heat are retaining Kevin Love — who quickly became a locker room leader after arriving in Miami — and brought back former Miami guard Josh Richardson. Love is getting $3.7 million this season; both he and Richardson have an option for 2024-25 as well.
Joe Ingles agreed to a two-year, $22 million deal to join the Magic. And Tre Jones will sign a two-year, $20 million deal with the San Antonio Spurs to play alongside No. 1 pick Victor Wembanyama, agent Kevin Bradbury said.
2011 NBA MVP Derrick Rose agreed to a deal with Memphis — the city where he played his one season of college basketball — in a deal first reported by SNY.
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