When Kawhi Leonard joined the Los Angeles Clippers before the start of this season, the Toronto Raptors needed others to step up in his absence. Ultimately, Leonard's decision left Kyle Lowry and Pascal Siakam as the front men of the Raptors. These two All-Stars have received plenty of help, though, including from NBA Finals hero Fred VanVleet.
Leonard's exit from Toronto left the door of opportunity open for a lot of Raptors players. In fact, most who were on the team last year have seen drastic increases in their statistical averages. For instance, Siakam turned in 16.9 points per game in the 2018-19 championship-winning season. This season, he's averaging 22.9 points.
VanVleet is another member of the team who has stepped into a larger role in the wake of Leonard's departure. Last season, the former Wichita State Shocker racked up 11.0 points and 4.8 assists per outing. Those numbers have ballooned to 17.6 points and 6.6 assists per game in this campaign after he made a major name for himself in last year's playoffs.
VanVleet has played exceptionally well inside the NBA's bubble complex thus far. In Monday's 134-110 win over the Brooklyn Nets in Game 1, he poured in 30 points on 11-of-15 from the field. He also had a career-high eight triples to go with 11 assists, two rebounds, two steals and one block in 38 minutes of action. Oh, and he had just one turnover.
Impressively, VanVleet joined Chris Paul, Damian Lillard and Stephen Curry as the only players with 30-plus points, 10-plus assist and eight-plus triples in a playoff game in NBA history. Needless to say, the guard is feeling good:
“I thought this is the most locked in we've been all year,” VanVleet told ESPN following Monday's victory. “It felt like guys were amped up and energized. Having won one (title), it kind of puts you at a peace throughout the year, and now it's time to kick it into gear. I thought we were pretty engaged. I loved our energy, our attentiveness and focus. That's all you can ask for.”
“Freddy,” as he's known, has expressed interest in re-signing with the Raptors when he becomes an unrestricted free agent this offseason. Will Toronto be willing to shell out the cash required to make a proper offer, though? The team gave Kyle Lowry a one-year, $30 million extension to keep him under contract through the 2020-21 season, and they signed Pascal Siakam to a four-year, $129.9 million max deal.
The way VanVleet is playing now, he's earning some serious coin given he'll be one of the best options on the market in the offseason, even with so few teams having cap space. Money shouldn't be too much of an issue for the Raptors, though, as Marc Gasol and Serge Ibaka are both coming off the books. While Siakam's extension is kicking in and will effectively take the place of one of those deals, Toronto still only has $78.7 million currently on the books.
If there is a way, the Raptors should do everything in their power to re-sign Fred VanVleet. An outstanding player on both ends of the floor, he would be a fine addition to any team, and Toronto should want to keep him around as Lowry ages or potentially goes elsewhere.
Let's see how the story unfolds.
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