Jakob Poeltl Gives Insight Into Fred VanVleet’s Free Agency Decision With Rockets

According to his former teammate Jakob Poeltl, leaving the Raptors in favor of the Houston Rockets may not have been an easy decision for point guard Fred VanVleet.

HOUSTON — Fred VanVleet signed a three-year max contract to join the Houston Rockets in free agency Friday evening. Four days later, VanVleet wasted no time getting acquainted with his new teammate in Jalen Green.

Rumors surrounding VanVleet's inevitable departure from the Toronto Raptors refused to cease throughout the 2022-23 season. But that did not mean leaving the Raptors was an easy decision for VanVleet and his teammates.

According to Raptors' beat reporter Josh Lewenberg, Jakob Poeltl shared insight into VanVleet's mindset prior to his decision to join the Rockets.

"Poeltl said he & VanVleet spoke during free agency, Fred was still unsure where he was headed when Jakob made his decision to return to Toronto. ‘Obviously, I would’ve liked to keep playing with Fred, but we still have a really talented team. I’m not too worried about it.'"

Poeltl has seen the growth of VanVleet up close, who began his career as an undrafted prospect in 2016 to an All-Star player six years later. 

The 6-foot-0 guard has averaged 14.6 points on 40.2 percent shooting from the field, 5.3 assists and 1.3 steals across 417 career games. VanVleet scored 32 points on 12 of 26 shooting, 7 of 16 from deep, to lead the Raptors to a seven-point victory over the Rockets on Nov. 9.

Poeltl entered the free agency market alongside VanVleet but re-signed with the Raptors on a four-year $80 million deal. He began his career with VanVleet as the No. 9 pick by Toronto during the 2016 NBA Draft.

The Austrian big man reunited with VanVleet in February after the Raptors re-acquired him in a trade deadline deal from the San Antonio Spurs. 

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