With the largest recruiting envelope in the entire league (nearly 60 million dollars), the Rockets will be the main drivers of the “free agency” market to come.
Especially since Ime Udoka and the club’s management have made it clear, on several occasions, that it is time to move on to the second phase of the reconstruction and that the franchise wants to recruit veterans to develop young people and start accumulating victories and confidence.
With the James Harden track slipping away, Fred VanVleet would be the Texas priority, according to the latest rumors.
The question is how much are the Rockets willing to put on the table to get their hands on the Raptors All-Star? According to information from SportsNet and from Yahoo! Sports, Houston would be downright ready to offer the (almost) maximum, but for a short time. We would thus be talking about a contract of 80 million dollars over two years, or even downright 84 million dollars over two years according to Marc Stein!
A measured risk for the Rockets?
Double the salary of Fred VanVleet to make him reach 40 million dollars a year, is it not too expensive paid for the Rockets? Maybe, but maybe that’s what it will take to attract him to a rebuilding team and, if the contract is short, the risk is still measured.
Still, as SportsNet notes, beware of rumors when approaching “free agency”. Because Fred VanVleet’s representatives, in this case Klutch Sports, have an interest in everyone thinking that other franchises are ready to offer the point guard huge contracts…if they want the Raptors to do the same.
| Fred VanVleet | Percentage | Bounces | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Crew | GM | Minimum | Shots | 3 points | LF | Off | Def | Early | pd | party | Int | bp | CT | Points |
| 2016-17 | TOR | 37 | 8 | 35.1 | 37.9 | 81.8 | 0.1 | 1.0 | 1.1 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 2.9 |
| 2017-18 | TOR | 76 | 20 | 42.6 | 41.4 | 83.2 | 0.3 | 2.1 | 2.4 | 3.2 | 1.7 | 0.9 | 1.0 | 0.3 | 8.6 |
| 2018-19 | TOR | 64 | 28 | 41.0 | 37.8 | 84.3 | 0.3 | 2.3 | 2.6 | 4.8 | 1.7 | 0.9 | 1.3 | 0.3 | 11.0 |
| 2019-20 | TOR | 54 | 36 | 41.3 | 39.0 | 84.8 | 0.3 | 3.4 | 3.8 | 6.6 | 2.4 | 1.9 | 2.2 | 0.3 | 17.6 |
| 2020-21 | TOR | 52 | 37 | 38.9 | 36.6 | 88.5 | 0.6 | 3.6 | 4.2 | 6.3 | 2.3 | 1.7 | 1.8 | 0.7 | 19.6 |
| 2021-22 | TOR | 65 | 38 | 40.3 | 37.7 | 87.4 | 0.7 | 3.8 | 4.5 | 6.7 | 2.5 | 1.7 | 2.6 | 0.6 | 20.3 |
| 2022-23 | TOR | 69 | 37 | 39.3 | 34.2 | 89.8 | 0.4 | 3.6 | 4.1 | 7.2 | 2.8 | 1.8 | 2.0 | 0.6 | 19.4 |
| Total | 417 | 30 | 40.2 | 37.3 | 86.9 | 0.4 | 2.9 | 3.3 | 5.3 | 2.1 | 1.4 | 1.7 | 0.4 | 14.6 | |
How to read the stats? MJ = matches played; Min = Minutes; Shots = Shots made / Shots attempted; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; Off = offensive rebound; Def= defensive rebound; Tot = Total bounces; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost bullets; Ct: Counters; Points = Points.
