Report: VanVleet re-signs with Raptors on 4-year, $85M contract
The Toronto Raptors re-signed guard Fred VanVleet to a four-year, $85-million contract, the 26-year-old's representatives told The Athletic's Shams Charania.
The final year of the deal contains a player option, per Charania.
In coming to terms with their homegrown player, the Raptors removed what was widely perceived to be the top point guard in the 2020 free-agent pool.
"Steady Freddy" entered the league as an undrafted free agent in 2016 and has since cemented himself as a core member of the perennial playoff team. He's risen from a deep bench reserve to a promising role player to a potent sixth-man to a top-flight starter alongside franchise star Kyle Lowry in the backcourt.
Lowry was quick to congratulate his teammate as news of VanVleet's deal broke.
It was in part due to the breakout play of the Rockford, Illinois, product that Toronto captured its first NBA title at the end of the 2018-19 season; from Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals against the Milwaukee Bucks through Game 6 of the NBA Finals versus the Golden State Warriors, VanVleet averaged 14.7 points per game with 52.6% shooting form beyond the arc.
Coach Nick Nurse rewarded VanVleet's growth by starting him for all 54 of his regular-season appearances in 2019-20. The decision resulted in the 6-foot-1 guard setting new career-high averages across the board: 17.6 points, 6.6 assists, 3.8 rebounds, and 1.9 steals in just under 36 minutes per outing. He also shot 39% on 3-pointers, heaving just under seven long balls on average.
Despite his diminutive stature, VanVleet ranked highly in a number of advanced statistical categories on both ends of the floor last season. He placed in the 91st percentile in steal percentage, 85th percentile in 3-point shooting, and the 84th percentile in assist percentage among all combo guards, according to Cleaning the Glass.
Above all, the Raptors outscored opponents by 4.8 points per 100 possessions with VanVleet on the floor last season, per NBA Stats.