Fred VanVleet Has Become Top Priority for Rockets in Free Agency, per Report

The Houston Rockets have made Toronto Raptors guard Fred VanVleet their No. 1 priority in free agency

All Raptors Staff | Jun 30, 2023

Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports

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Fred VanVleet has become the No. 1 priority for the Houston Rockets ahead of free agency Friday night.

For so long it had been thought that a James Harden reunion in Houston would eat up most of the Rockets’ $60-plus million in cap space. That, however, changed when Ime Udoka was named the head coach in Houston, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Since then, VanVleet has moved to the top of the list for the Rockets.

The pivot from the Rockets has left the Toronto Raptors in an awkward situation. Toronto had long planned on re-signing VanVleet this summer, but the Rockets now pose a serious threat as they’re reportedly planning to offer the 29-year-old a contract worth $84 million over two seasons.

If VanVleet leaves, the Raptors will have no recourse to replace their lead guard, save for using the $12.4 million mid-level exception. Toronto could target players such as Gabe Vincent and Cory Joseph but neither will come close to replicating VanVleet’s on-court impact for the Raptors. Toronto has also never been able to sign a significant impact player with the mid-level exception.

Both Toronto and Houston will reportedly hold meetings with VanVleet and his representatives Friday night at 6 p.m. when free agency officially begins, per Substack’s Marc Stein.

The Raptors would also like to re-sign Jakob Poeltl this summer and navigating VanVleet and Poeltl on long-term contracts while remaining under the luxury tax threshold will not be easy.

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