Fred VanVleet, Rockets Agree to 3-Year, $130M Contract; Record for Undrafted Player
July 1, 2023
The Houston Rockets have agreed to sign unrestricted free-agent point guard Fred VanVleet on a three-year, $130 million contract, ending his seven-year tenure with the Toronto Raptors.
ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski relayed the news.
Adrian Wojnarowski @wojespnFree agent G Fred VanVleet has agreed on a three-year, $130 million contract with the Houston Rockets, <a href="https://twitter.com/KlutchSports?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@KlutchSports</a> CEO Rich Paul and agent Erika Ruiz tell ESPN. Rockets land ex-Raptors All-Star in his prime at 29 years old. <a href="https://t.co/B6WwPmLYq1">pic.twitter.com/B6WwPmLYq1</a>
The deal is a historic one considering his background:
VanVleet averaged 19.3 points on 39.3 percent shooting, 7.2 assists and 4.1 rebounds per game for the Raptors last season. He achieved a career-high 117 offensive rating, per Basketball-Reference.
The year before, the 29-year-old finished as the first runner-up among all guards in the All-Defensive Team voting.
VanVleet enjoyed a successful career at Wichita State, leading the Shockers to the 2015 Final Four as a No. 9 seed before guiding the team to an undefeated record before the 2016 NCAA tournament.
He went undrafted out of school, but the Raptors picked him up as a free agent. He worked his way into the starting lineup in his third season (2018-19) and played an instrumental role in the team's first-ever NBA championship. He came off the bench in the playoffs and averaged 11.7 points per game, including 14.7 PPG in his final 10 contests.
VanVleet joined the starting lineup for good in 2019 and made his first All-Star team in 2022. He has posted 19.3 points and 6.7 assists in his last four seasons as the Raptors' starter. He declined his $22.8 million player option to become an unrestricted free agent after the season.
Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports reported earlier this month that the Rockets viewed VanVleet as a backcourt option if they didn't bring superstar guard James Harden back to town in free agency.
Now, VanVleet is in Houston as the team looks for a veteran leader to help the young but talented team rebound from a 22-60 season.