Fred VanVleet has made one of the first significant, albeit expected, decisions of the NBA offseason.
The Toronto Raptors guard has declined his player option for 2023-24 and will become a free agent in July, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. VanVleet could have opted in to his $22.8 million option, but is likely to fetch more on the open market and will attempt to do so.
The report states that VanVleet is interested in returning to the Raptors, but the 29-year-old wants to see what his market is like, and will likely attract widespread interest from a number of teams.
While it is no surprise that VanVleet is opting out, some of his previous comments about Toronto should give the Raptors encouragement about their chances of keeping him on a new deal. However, there are other teams VanVleet has some connections with that could enter the conversation.
VanVleet has established himself as one of the league’s elite guards. The 29-year-old averaged 19.3 points and 7.2 assists per game last season.
