Fred VanVleet Rumors: Teams Think PG Is Most Likely to Sign New Raptors Contract

Numerous NBA teams believe that free agent guard Fred VanVleet will "most likely" head back to the Toronto Raptors, per Ian Begley of SNY (1:08 mark). 

Begley made the comments during a video discussing the New York Knicks' free agency prospects.

"And then Fred VanVleet. Teams think that he's most likely to end up back in Toronto, so if I'm guessing … he wouldn't end up in New York," Begley said.

The Knicks are in need of a point guard, but they will have competition for the 26-year-old VanVleet, who averaged 17.6 points, 6.6 assists and 1.9 steals per game in his first full season as a Raptors' starter. He also shot a career-high 39.0 percent from three-point range.

The tenacious defender finished 10th out of 138 qualified shooting guards in defensive real plus-minus last year, per ESPN.com.

VanVleet broke out during the latter half of the Raptors' 2019 championship run. He averaged 14.7 points and 2.4 assists per contest over his last nine playoff games, shooting 51.1 percent from the field and 52.6 percent from three-point range along the way.

Toronto has the salary cap space to re-sign VanVleet to a long-term deal: Pascal Siakam is currently the only player with fully guaranteed salaries on the books past 2020-21, per Basketball-Reference. Norman Powell can pick up his $11.6 million player option for 2021-22 if he so chooses, however.

Elsewhere, Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News reported on Oct. 14 that the Raptors were "betting favorites" to sign VanVleet but that the Knicks were interested in addition to other teams. John Hollinger of The Athletic listed the Detroit Pistons as having interest in a Nov. 2 piece.

Any of those teams could use VanVleet, who shouldn't have a shortage of options when the negotiating window opens on Friday.

Regardless of what team VanVleet chooses, the former Wichita State star will undoubtedly be signing a lucrative deal soon enough.