A four-year deal worth $85 million (U.S.). A little more than three years ago, it might have been difficult to imagine Fred VanVleet’s name attached to those kinds of numbers.
On the third-last day of April 2017, after all, VanVleet was playing in the NBA G League. He was playing very well, mind you, scoring 28 points as the Raptors 905 claimed the developmental league championship. But as an NBA rookie, he wasn’t an obvious star in the making. He had scored in double figures a whopping three times all season. He never had more than six assists in a single game.