With the Denver Nuggets just one win away from the 2022-23 NBA Championship, we are rapidly moving closer to the 2023 NBA offseason taking center stage.
This will be the summer of point guard movement, with a number of high profile names hitting the market like Kyrie Irving, James Harden, and (potentially) Chris Paul. Joining that group will be Raptors guard Fred VanVleet, who officially declined his player option on Monday for next season to become an unrestricted free agent, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
ESPN Sources: In the first major domino of free agency, Toronto Raptors All-Star guard Fred VanVleet has declined his $22.8 million player option and will become an unrestricted free agent in July. pic.twitter.com/bVrve81XgZ
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 12, 2023
According to Woj, there will be a number of hopeful contenders who will look to work out a sign-and-trade with Toronto for the former All-Star guard, while teams like Houston, Utah, San Antonio, and Detroit will have the cap space to make a run at him without needing to work out a deal with the Raptors to land him. VanVleet saw his efficiency dip a touch this last year but has historically been a quality shooter as well as an on-ball creator who has steadily gotten better at running a team over his career — he posted a career best 28.1 assist percentage this past season.
The Rockets are a known potential suitor for VanVleet, as he’s among the expected backup plans should they not get James Harden to return to Houston, but there figure to be a number of teams interested in the former undrafted guard out of Wichita State, as he is among the best point guards available and likely won’t command a full max deal.
