2018 NBA free agency grades: Raptors bringing back Fred VanVleet

On the first morning of NBA free agency, the Toronto Raptors agreed to lock up restricted free agent Free VanVleet to a two-year, $18 million deal.

A restricted free agent that burst onto the scene this past season in Fred VanVleet has agreed to terms with the Toronto Raptors on a two-year, $18 million contract, according to Yahoo! Sports‘ Shams Charania. The second-year point guard became a stable on the Raptors’ bench, earning himself a hefty pay raise after making just $1.9 million over his first two seasons.

VanVleet averaged 8.6 points, 3,2 assists, 2.4 rebound and 0.9 steals in 20.0 minutes per game this season for Toronto, but his impact goes beyond the numbers. He served as the floor leader of one of the strongest bench units in the NBA (fifth in scoring per game), and this second unit was often kept on the floor in crucial times to close out games if it was humming.

He can play off the ball as well, which is perfect when playing alongside Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan. The stars of Toronto are ball-dominant players, so surrounding them with playmakers that can attack close-outs and strong shooters from the 3-point line (41.4 percent on 3.4 3-point attempts per game) like Fred VanVleet is ideal to maximize their offensive spacing and production.

Speaking of Lowry, presumably locking down VanVleet to this deal provides some insurance in case they opt to trade Lowry, which has been floated a bit throughout the offseason. The 32-year-old point guard is one of the best players in franchise history, but this team has yet to reach its lofty postseason goals. Offloading Lowry would open up cap space and hand the keys over to their younger players.

The dollar figures put the Raptors at $136.5 million and roughly $13 million over the luxury tax. With a lot of money drying up quickly in this free agency period, getting VanVleet to agree to these terms before he signed another offer sheet is a win for the Raptors, and the dollar figures he will receive are probably better than what he would have found in the market.

The Raptors have a strong pipeline and developmental system with their G League affiliate, the Raptors 905, producing players like VanVleet, Delon Wright, Pascal Siakam, Jakob Poeltl and Bruno Caboclo, who all won the 2016-17 D-League championship. Now, they lead the bench unit.

This continuity amongst their bench unit is exactly why they are successful despite not being the most talented bunch. They understand how to play with each other and play the right way by sharing the basketball and finding the open man. Fred VanVleet epitomizes this second unit as a whole, and it’s nice to see the Raptors value their bench by bringing him back.

His IQ and know-how of what to do on the basketball court makes up for his lack of size (6’0”, 195 pounds) and he competes hard on the defensive end. He finished third in the Sixth Man of the Year voting this season, and figures to continue this upward trajectory as he carves out a larger role in the rotation.

This potential re-signing won’t bring the biggest headlines to this offseason, but in terms of keeping a productive player that understands his fit on a team, he has the upside to become a starter if they part ways with one of their stars. The two years also aligns with Lowry and Serge Ibaka’s contract length, opening them up for some free agent deals down the line.

Next: 2018 NBA free agency tracker: Grades for every deal so far

Grade: A-