Fred VanVleet Next Team Odds: Can the Toronto Raptors Keep Him?

Toronto Raptors point guard Fred VanVleet opted out of his contract to test free agency, putting into question who the team’s starting PG will be next season. 

As the Raptors head into the NBA draft, the uncertainty around their all-star PG no doubt tosses what they are planning to do into some disarray. 

We'll look at the sports betting odds into what VanVleet might do.

Here are NorthStar Bets odds this morning on where VanVleet ends up.

Why Fred VanVleet Will Sign With a New Team

Money. The 76ers are also up there in the NorthStar Bets odds in part because former Raptors coach Nick Nurse is now the coach of the 76ers. 

There is a lot of chatter that SG James Harden ($33 million last year) will be moving on from Philadelphia, which in part would clear out the requisite salary to bring in VanVleet, who, according to some reports, would be looking at an annual salary of $30 million. 

The Rockets are up there because they have a ton of cap space and can afford VanVleet at $30 million, without having to pull any sign and trades.

The bottom line – it’s not a strong free agency class, and VanVleet is a very desirable target for teams.

The Raptors are also entering an era with a new coach – Darko Rajakovic – and who knows what VanVleet’s thoughts are on the new direction. 

The team has been stale for three seasons now. Nurse played the hell out of VanVleet this past season, and it might be a better scenario for VanVleet to go with the guy he knows at this point, especially a guy he won an NBA championship with.

Why Fred VanVleet Will Re-Sign With the Toronto Raptors

Team president Masai Ujiri strongly insinuated during his end-of-season media conference that the team intends to walk it back this upcoming season, as opposed to a rebuild, which starts with their all-star point guard. What was needed was more of a cultural re-set with the team, Ujiri said.

This week guard Gary Trent Jr. announced he would be picking up his $18.5 million player option for 2023-24, one of the first big off-season dominoes to fall. Trent averaged 17.4 points with a 36.9 3P%.

That leaves VanVleet and centre Jakob Poeltl, another free agent. One media report this week said the Raptors are prepared to open the bank doors with a big offer to keep VanVleet around. 

He turned down a $22.8 million player option. How can the Raptors get that done, plus Poeltl, who will command something in the range of $20 million per season, according to The Athletic? How can the Raptors avoid the luxury tax, with those two, and Trent Jr. already done? That’s the question.