Two key players for the Raptors – Fred VanVleet and Gary Trent Jr. – are likely to play elsewhere next season, writes Marc Stein on his Substack.
VanVleet, who became an NBA All-Star for the first time in his career this season, has player option for next season, but is expected to decline it and become an unrestricted free agent. The 29-year-old point guard has been drawing interest from the Lakers.
This past season VanVleet averaged 19.3 points, 4.1 rebounds and 7.2 assists in 36.7 minutes per game for the Raptors.
Trent is in the same situation – it is up to him whether to exercise his player option for the 2023-2024 season. He averaged 17.4 points, 2.6 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 32.1 minutes per game this year.
Stein also notes that the Raptors are not expected to do a complete rebuild of their roster.
