Former Raptors Guard Opens Up About Leaving Toronto: 'We Weren't Really Having Fun'

Former Toronto Raptors guard Fred VanVleet explains why he signed with the Houston Rockets in 2023

Feb 9, 2024; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Houston Rockets guard Fred VanVleet (5) is acknowledged during a break in the action against the Toronto Raptors during the first half at Scotiabank Arena. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images / John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images

Fred VanVleet saw the writing on the wall.

The 2022-23 season hadn’t been fun for the Toronto Raptors. The team puttered to a 41-41 record, falling short in embarrassing fashion in the play-in tournament, and it was clear to everyone changes were coming. Former Raptors coach Nick Nurse began wondering openly about his future with the organization before eventually being fired. VanVleet’s contract was set to expire, and Pascal Siakam and OG Anunoby were about to head into an offseason full of trade speculation.

There had been contract discussions between VanVleet and Toronto throughout the year, but the two sides were never able to come to terms on a deal due in part to the league’s collective bargaining agreement which limited what VanVleet could extend for.

Then came free agency.

“I felt the changing of the guard. As players, you kind of get hip to what direction the organization wants to go in here and there and everywhere,” VanVleet said on The Draymond Green Show with Baron Davis. “There were different kinds of contracts and it was just so much going on behind the scenes. So I just wanted to get to free agency so I could make them make a decision versus me doing it.”

Toronto tried hard to re-sign VanVleet but was unwilling to offer the kind of short-term money Houston offered. When it came time to make a decision, VanVleet said he spoke to Rockets coach Ime Udoka and general manager Rafael Stone and knew it was time for a change.

“I could have went back. The talks didn’t go exactly how maybe I wanted them to go and then Houston comes along,” VanVleet said.

Houston’s offer didn’t have quite as much guaranteed money, but nearly $43 million per year for at least two seasons in Texas — a state without state income tax — was too much to pass up. Between the money and an opportunity to mentor a young Rockets core in the next phase of their rebuild, VanVleet was sold.

“I just wanted to get back to having fun playing basketball,” VanVleet said. “Post-championship Toronto, towards the end we weren’t really having fun. It got to that point, and I was looking for just a new fresh start.”

It was a decision that seems to have worked out for everyone.

VanVleet has struggled to start this season but has been the leader of an up-and-coming Rockets team while making more money than he could have ever dreamed of. Toronto, meanwhile, turned the page on its previous era and began its overdue rebuilding process around Barnes and its new young point guard Immanuel Quickley.