17 Aug
Fred VanVleet Rumors
All NBA Players
Position: G
Born: 02/25/94
Height: 6-0 / 1.83
Weight:195 lbs. / 88.5 kg.
Salary: $8,653,847
Born: 02/25/94
Height: 6-0 / 1.83
Weight:195 lbs. / 88.5 kg.
Salary: $8,653,847
On Monday night, a group of friends who met up for some runs got the surprise of a lifetime when Toronto Raptors guard and 2018 NBA Sixth Man of the Year finalist Fred VanVleet was driving by, saw some fellow hoopers and decided to get in on the action.
Alex Kennedy: Fred VanVleet texted me this quote in response to the Spurs-Raptors trade. I added it to our recent Q&A, which was a wide-ranging conversation covering a ton of topics.
HoopsHype: Overall, how was your free-agency experience? I know restricted free agency can be tough for some guys, but it seemed to be pretty easy and quick for you. Fred VanVleet: It was a good experience. I didn’t really know what to expect going into it. But, like you said, it went by pretty easy and fast. It was over with pretty quick. I was kind of anxious going into it, just not knowing what to expect or how things might shake out. I knew where I wanted to be and I had a feeling what Toronto was going to do, but you never really know until it’s actually time to get a deal. Then, once [the free-agency period started], it wrapped up pretty quick.
HoopsHype: Were there any surprises? Everyone imagines free agency, but then sometimes it’s different than they expected. Did any aspect surprise you? Fred VanVleet: You never really know what’s going to happen until you’re actually in it. I had been given some indications [that certain teams would pursue me] from different people around the league. We had a network of people around the league so we could find out what other teams might be interested. But, again, you never really know [if the interest is real] until they actually throw an offer at you when free agency officially starts. There were some surprises right at midnight, right after free agency started, but nothing serious enough to where I wanted to change my plan and not re-sign with the Raptors. It was flattering; it’s always nice to be wanted and to see teams calling and inquiring about you and trying to find a way to add you to their team. But, like I said, it wasn’t anything substantial enough and it didn’t happen fast enough for me to stray from my plan [of re-signing with Toronto]. If I wanted to explore those options, I would’ve had to put the Raptors’ things on hold and stall them out to see if these other things would fall into place and that just didn’t really make sense to me.
HoopsHype: It seems like Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan really emerged as strong mentors for you. How much have they helped you and how nice is it having two stars to learn from in this backcourt? Fred VanVleet: They’ve been vital to my success. I owe my NBA career to those guys. They’re such great guys and great leaders by example, but then to also take me under their wing and treat me as their little brother? To go out of their way to teach me on the court and off the court? They did that. And all that stuff, they didn’t have to do that, you know? They chose to do that. I owe a ton of my success from my first two years in the league to those guys. They were incredible. They’re amazing players, obviously, but they’re also so real and so humble. It meant so much that they went out of their way to look out for me and help me when nobody told them to do that and they didn’t have to do that. It was just a genuine thing that they did, a genuine thing that happened. I’m super grateful for everything they’ve done for me.
17 Jul
