Fred VanVleet (29) is leaving for the Houston Rockets (Houston), but there will always be a place for the Toronto Raptors (Toronto) in his heart.
On the morning of the 3rd (Korean time), Van Vleet left a final goodbye to Toronto and his fans through his personal SNS, Instagram.
He said, “I am indescribably grateful to Toronto for watching a child who wanted an opportunity as a child become an All-Star, NBA champion and father of three children.” “I am forever indebted to Toronto for giving me the opportunity. The things we built from the ground up with them will be remembered forever.”
He continued, “(Toronto) fans didn’t even know who I was at first, but I quickly became a player loved by fans and recently became a player hated by fans the most.” I am grateful to Toronto, the Raptors franchise and Canada for watching me grow.”
VanVleet agreed to a three-year, $130 million contract with Houston this offseason, making him the highest-paid undrafted player in NBA history, surpassing Duncan Robinson.
VanVleet, who played for seven seasons in Toronto, won the NBA championship (2019) and was honored to be selected as an All-Star (2021-22 season).
He averaged 19.3 points, 4.1 rebounds and 7.2 assists last season, and his field goal success rate was 39.3% (16.1 attempts) and 3-point success rate was 34.2% (8.8 attempts). However, his reading ability is excellent enough to record 3.6 assists-to-turnover ratio, and his defense is also very good enough to make 1.8 steals and 0.6 blocks.메이저놀이터
Now, VanVleet joins a team of up-and-comers like Kevin Porter Jr., Jalen Greene, Tari Eason, Jabari Smith Jr. and Alpharen Sengun as a veteran leader. He is expected to contribute greatly to turning a losing team that lasted three consecutive years into a winning team.