Predicting the contract of Raptors PG Fred VanVleet in free agency

The Toronto Raptors have some big questions to answer in the offseason, with Fred VanVleet’s status on the team chief among them. Will the Raptors choose to bring him back, or will he end up signing elsewhere and calling time on one of the best careers in Raptors history?

VanVleet is projected to opt out of the final year of his contract and cash in on one last big payday. The odds of him doing that are still very reasonable despite the fact that he was so inconsistent last year that many fans identified him as the main problem with the Raptors’ offense.

VanVleet will likely take advantage of a very poor free agent class around him at the point guard spot, meaning the lack of viable alternatives could help him and a contract that pays him very well for multiple years. VanVleet might get a big offer from someone other than the Raptors.

What will VanVleet’s contract look like? While teams will likely need to weigh the potential of what he could be against the risk that could be incurred with such a hefty deal for a smaller point guard, he will still vash in with what promises to be a very impressive contract.

What contract will Toronto Raptors’ Fred VanVleet earn in free agency?

While Kyrie Irving and James Harden are free agents, they both come with some off-field worries and a potential max price tag that will ensure only the most desperate contenders take a sniff at them. Beyond that VanVleet and D’Angelo Russell might be the best out there.

Jalen Brunson got slightly less than $30 million per season when he signed with the Knicks. While that proved to be a massive bargain for New York, Brunson was signed after a four-year stint in Dallas that showed much less than VanVleet’s championship-laden time with the Raptors.

VanVleet can take three different directions, all of which end in a payday. He can either stay with a Raptors team that will do everything to keep him, become a highly-paid star on a rebuilding team, or join the likes of his old coach, Nick Nurse, in Philadelphia.

$30 million per season, especially on a shorter deal of around three seasons, seems like a solid goal for VanVleet to shoot for. If he wants to go into the $32 million range, that would put him on par with names like Jamal Murray and De’Aaron Fox, who are much better than him right now.