Toronto Raptors guard Fred VanVleet is set to become a free agent this summer.
General manager Bobby Webster confirmed Tuesday that the 29-year-old point guard declined his US$22.8 million player option for next season but implied that VanVleet’s time in Toronto isn’t necessarily over.
“Obviously, we’re on good terms with Fred, spoke to him yesterday,” said Webster after new head coach Darko Rajakovic was introduced. “I think that was just kind of expected, it wasn’t really unexpected.”
VanVleet has spent his entire seven-year career with the Raptors after going undrafted in 2016. The option year was going to be the last of a four-year, $85 million contract he signed in 2020.
Shooting guard Gary Trent Jr. also has a player option available to him next week.
“Similar (to VanVleet), having those conversations with (Trent),” said Webster. “You can opt in, you can do a lot of things. He has a lot of things at his disposal, as do we.
“We’re able to have a lot of those conversations, whether it’s long term, short term, so similar to Fred, which is we’re in communication with him.”
VanVleet was a key contributor on the Raptors’ championship team and was named an all-star in 2021-22, finishing that season with a career-high 20.3 points per game.
Last season, VanVleet averaged 19.3 points and a career-best 7.2 assists across 69 regular-season games.
The 24-year-old Trent averaged 17.4 points per game last season with 2.6 rebounds and 1.6 assists.
Toronto finished with a 41-41 record and missed the post-season after a play-in loss to the Chicago Bulls.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 13, 2023.
