Report: Rockets sign Fred VanVleet to three-year, $130M deal
Posted June 30, 2023 9:00 pm.
The Houston Rockets have signed former Toronto Raptors guard Fred VanVleet to a three-year, $130-million deal according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
Free agent G Fred VanVleet has agreed on a three-year, $130 million contract with the Houston Rockets, @KlutchSports CEO Rich Paul and agent Erika Ruiz tell ESPN. Rockets land ex-Raptors All-Star in his prime at 29 years old. pic.twitter.com/B6WwPmLYq1
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 1, 2023
It is the first max contract signed this summer.
VanVleet, 29, has always been an advocate for betting on yourself. An undrafted guard out of Wichita State, he spent his entire career with the Raptors organization, rising up the ranks from the Raptors 905 to the sixth man and eventually the heir apparent to fan favourite Kyle Lowry.
He was selected to his first All-Star game in the 2021-2022 season when he averaged a career-high 20.3 points while shooting 37 per cent from deep and dishing out 6.7 assists in his first season replacing Lowry as the team’s lead guard.
Though his efficiency took a step back in the 2022-2023 season with his 39.3 field goal percentage ranking third-worst among qualified players, he continued to improve his playmaking, increasing his assists per game while decreasing his turnovers.
His workload over the past two years has been some of the highest in the league, finishing with 37.9 minutes per game in the 2021-2022 season (tied for highest) and 36.7 this past season (fifth highest).
The Raptors were eliminated in the play-in game against the Chicago Bulls, missing the playoffs for the second time in three seasons.
VanVleet finished the year averaging 19.3 points, 7.2 assists and 1.8 steals.
