Toronto Raptors head coach Nick Nurse was the front-runner to win the 2020 Coach of the Year Award. After all, Nurse guided the Raptors to the second-best record in the Eastern Conference before the season was suspended and he did it despite losing Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green in free agency last offseason.

The Raptors were 46-18 before the 2019-20 season was put to a halt due to COVID-19. All-Stars Pascal Siakam and Kyle Lowry were leading the way on offense, while Norman Powell, Marc Gasol, and Serge Ibaka were anchoring Toronto’s defense on a nightly basis.

The Raptors had the No. 1 scoring defense before Utah Jazz star center Rudy Gobert’s positive COVID-19 test. Toronto was giving up just 106.5 points per game. The team looked primed to face off against the Milwaukee Bucks again in the Eastern Conference Finals. Hopefully, the season can resume in the summer and we can watch some postseason basketball.

However, if the 2019-20 season gets canceled, Toronto president Masai Ujiri and general manager Bobby Webster need to re-sign point guard Fred VanVleet as soon as the free agency period begins. FVV was averaging 17.6 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 6.6 assists for the Raptors this season before play was suspended. He was also shooting 40.9 percent from the field, 38.8 percent from beyond the arc, and 84.3 percent from the free-throw line.

VanVleet was making $9 million this season from the Raptors. As an unrestricted free agent, he is expected to get a huge payday since he's considered to be the best point guard hitting the open market this summer. Along with VanVleet, Goran Dragic, Jeff Teague, Reggie Jackson and D.J. Augustin will become free agents.

With Lowry getting older, the Raptors need to keep VanVleet so he can be the franchise point guard of the future. Lowry is 34 and becomes a free agent himself after the 2020-21 season.

There are going to be several teams that are going to try and steal VanVleet away from Toronto. The Raptors simply can’t afford to lose this gem of a player that they developed and watched turn into one of the most underrated players in the NBA. Toronto doesn't win the 2019 championship over the Golden State Warriors without the contributions of VanVleet, who averaged 14.0 points in the Finals and shot 40.0 percent from 3.

The Raptors' core moving forward appears to be Siakam, Norman Powell, OG Anunoby, and Chris Boucher. Ibaka and Gasol both become unrestricted free agents this offseason. It's unclear if Toronto will have an interest in bringing either player back.

VanVleet should be at the top of Toronto's core along with Siakam. If the 2019-20 season is over, the trio of Gasol, Lowry, and Ibaka may have played its last game together since Ibaka and Gasol are becoming free agents. Moreover, since Lowry only has one-year left on his contract after this season, his long-term future is up in the air, which makes it even more imperative that the Raptors don't lose VanVleet.

Since joining the Raptors in 2016 as an undrafted free agent, VanVleet is averaging 10.3 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 4.0 assists in 225 games. His story is inspirational considering he had a stellar college career, didn't get drafted, but fought through the adversity and made it to the NBA.

VanVleet is now an NBA champion and he's about to get life-changing money whenever the 2020 offseason begins. That money should come from the Raptors.