Ibaka leaves, VanVleet staying
Ibaka signs with Clippers for two years, VanVleet gets four years, $85M
Fred VanVleet bet on himself. It paid off.
Serge Ibaka, meanwhile, is heading to a new home.
VanVleet agreed Saturday to a four-year, $85 million (US) contract to remain with the Toronto Raptors, a person with direct knowledge of the discussions told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the contract remains unsigned.
The fourth year of the contract is at VanVleet’s option.
Ibaka and the Los Angeles Clippper have agreed to a twoyear contract worth $19 million with a player option in the second season, according to reports from The Athletic and ESPN.
The 31-year-old was traded to the Raptors back in February 2017 from the Orlando Magic in exchange for Terrence Ross and a first-round draft choice.
Later that year, he signed a three-year contract worth $65million and would eventually play a crucial role in the Raptors' championship run in 2019.
Ibaka averaged 15.4 points per game and 8.2 rebounds a game with Toronto last season.
VanVleet, the undrafted guard from Wichita State, has played a huge role in the Raptors’ recent successes, most importantly their run to the 2019 NBA championship. He has set career bests in scoring by wide margins in each of the last three seasons, that number rising to 17.6 points per game this past season.
Keeping VanVleet was of major importance to the Raptors, who have won at least 50 games in each of the last five seasons — by far the longest current streak in the NBA. Milwaukee has a two-year such streak, and the reigning NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers reached the 50win mark last season.
It also fulfilled a VanVleet prophecy: He famously went undrafted four years ago, then passed on some low-money deals that he figured wouldn’t pan into much.
“I turned those down. I bet on myself,” VanVleet told friends and family on what would have been his draft night, a festive occasion that turned disappointing when the call from the NBA never came.
On Saturday, he tweeted his reaction: a retweet of himself saying “Bet on yourself" in 2016, with three moneybag emojis now attached.
The Raptors brought him in on a summer-league deal, then a minimum deal, then gave him a two-year contract for $18 million two years later — and now gave him the full reward.
Kyle Lowry, the veteran point guard and longtime leader of the Raptors, has predicted that VanVleet will take over that role one day. The deal agreed to on Saturday only cements that sort of thinking.
“He’s going to be rewarded,” Lowry said after the Raptors were eliminated with a Game 7 loss to Boston in this past season’s Eastern Conference semifinals. “To me, that means the world that he can take care of his family and take care of his family at a high level.”
The Charlotte Hornets have wanted Gordon Hayward for years. On Saturday, they finally landed him, according to Priority Sports, the agency that represents the veteran forward. A person with knowledge of the terms, speaking on condition of anonymity because the deal hadn’t been signed, told the AP that Hayward will sign a fouryear contract worth $120 million. ESPN first reported the agreement between Hayward and the Hornets.
Hayward turned down a $34 million option for this season with Boston, and the Celtics were in talks with other teams on potential sign-and-trade deals.