Fred VanVleet and Pascal Siakam of the Toronto Raptors were two of the team’s best players in the 2019 NBA Playoffs, helping to lead the Raps to its first championship. While Kawhi Leonard was the team’s superstar and Finals MVP, Siakam has taken yet another leap in 2019-20 and was rewarded early in the season with a max contract extension.
VanVleet, who is not (yet) making those big bucks, joked with Blake Murphy of The Athletic about perhaps “soaking up that max money” himself down the line. The full context of VanVleet’s quote is below:
Fred VanVleet on ascending alongside Pascal Siakam over the years. pic.twitter.com/QRfsLQuLfZ
— Blake Murphy (@BlakeMurphyODC) November 19, 2019
While Siakam is only making $2.4 million this year, which is the final year on his rookie-scale contract, his $130 million max extension kicks in next season and will lock him through his age-29 season – likely meaning his entire prime will be played as a member of the Raptors.
Both VanVleet and Siakam have been in the NBA since the 2016-17 season, and both came into the league as slightly older rookies (22 in their rookie seasons, 25 now). However, the development that both players have experienced across their four seasons should help clear the stigma of drafting older players.
So far in 2019-20, Siakam is first on the Raps in points per game with 25.7 and VanVleet is third at 17.2. VanVleet tops the team in assists per game at 7.6, while Siakam is 3rd with 4.2.
With those two young veterans on the roster, the Raps should be in good shape going forward – even after losing Kawhi in free agency in the 2019 offseason.
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