When the Toronto Raptors said goodbye to Fred VanVleet in the summer of 2023, it was a major domino in the franchise ultimately kicking off their rebuild.
A key member of the 2019 NBA champion roster, a one-time All-Star, and a member of the team’s starting five for four seasons in a row, VanVleet cemented his place in franchise history ever since signing with the team in 2016 out of Wichita State.
Though VanVleet had publicly expressed his desire to remain a Raptor for life, the reality became different when he was offered the largest contract ever signed by an undrafted player in NBA history.
Joining the Houston Rockets on a three-year, $128 million deal with a third-year team option, VanVleet became part of a long-term project not too dissimilar from the one he’d left with the Raptors.
Though Houston’s 41 wins a season ago topped the Raptors’ 25, both teams finished 11th and 12th in their respective conferences, missing out entirely on the postseason.
But in his second season in Houston, things haven’t exactly gone to plan through six games.
VanVleet has averaged 12.3 points, 5.7 assists and 3.3 rebounds this season, all of which are the lowest marks of his career since he became a regular starter.
He’s been a 20+ point scorer just once in his career, but the shots haven’t been falling at an alarming rate: he’s shooting .283 from three-point range (career average .374) and somehow shooting worse from two-point range (.280), in comparison to a career average of .436.
Of course, the optimist’s view is that a six-game stretch is just that, and a slow shooting slump to start the season shouldn’t be a major cause for concern.
“I didn’t come here to be a rental,” he said to the Houston Chronicle’s Jonathan Feigen last month. “I didn’t come here to be a free agent (again). I came here for a long-term home. I’ve loved my time here so far. I think I have a good understanding with management and the coaches about what the future looks like with this team.”
But the pessimist’s view could show that VanVleet’s best career days may be behind him, and the 30-year-old might not be quite equipped to handle the team-high 37.8 minutes per night.
VanVleet is well aware of the aforementioned team option, meaning the Rockets could choose to send him to free agency this upcoming summer should his on-court struggles continue.
“The business will always take care of itself. I don’t really get too concerned with that stuff. That stuff will work itself out. But I think my family and I will be in Texas. I came here for a home, and I think I found one.”
VanVleet and the Rockets next visit Toronto on December 22, which could be his first game ever as an opponent on the Scotiabank Arena floor. Though he made the trip with Houston last season, an injury prevented VanVleet from suiting up for the contest.
