Toronto Raptors 2016-17 player grades: The youngsters
By Nate Wolf
Fred VanVleet
We now move from a virtual unknown who was drafted for his upside to a college star who wasn’t drafted at all.
Unlike Bruno, VanVleet mostly stuck around in Toronto. After appearing in 37 games for the Raptors during the regular season, VanVleet saw meaningful minutes in the Eastern Conference semifinals against Cleveland. For any young player – let alone an unheralded rookie – that’s excellent.
The 23-year-old point guard can’t really be judged off his statistics. He played just 294 minutes and shot the ball just 111 times. But it was critical for VanVleet to show a three-point shot. Standing at six feet and lacking elite athleticism out of college, per DraftExpress, VanVleet needs to shoot well to stick in the league.
He canned 13 of his 34 three-point attempts with Toronto, and went a sizzling 22-for-56 with Raptors 905. Toronto head coach Dwane Casey played VanVleet over Delon Wright against Cleveland for exactly that reason.
VanVleet may only top out as a third point guard or a low-end backup. But that’s fine. He came in with a measly salary and no expectations, and he emerged as one of Raptors 905’s best players and as a fringe bench guy for Casey.
Barring the acquisition of a new point guard in the upcoming draft, expect a similar role next season for VanVleet.