After a career season with Toronto Raptors in 2019/20, Fred VanVleet is poised to attract plenty of offers from guard-needy teams when he hits the free agency this offseason. However, the Raptors do not intend to let him go so easily.
Speaking about VanVleet during Thursday’s chat with reporters, Raptors’ president Masai Ujiri said that re-signing the 26-year-old point guard is one of the main goals for the organization in the coming months.
“Fred is a priority, a big-time priority,” said Ujiri.
Ujiri also underlined the intention to make an effort and hold onto several other free agents, including power forward Serge Ibaka and center Marc Gasol.
After making a notable contribution for Toronto during the 2018/19 title run, Fred VanVleet came up even bigger for the team this season. He emerged as one of the Raptors’ key players while having career-highs all over the board, including 17.6 points, 3.8 rebounds, 6.6 assists, and 1.9 steals per game.
While bringing him back might seem like a no-brainer for Toronto, the final decision isn’t so easy. Raptors have cap space, but they are also aiming to keep their core team together and also make additions in free agency. This would probably be jeopardized if they pay VanVleet top money that he will certainly ask for after a breakthrough year.
Everything will most likely depend on whether VanVleet is willing to take a bit less money to stay with the Raptors, or he ends up insisting on getting his price, which would likely mean he’s playing somewhere else in 2020/21.
