Fred VanVleet On Rumor He Was ‘Deeply Frustrated’ With Raptors

New Houston Rockets point guard Fred VanVleet was recently on the “Pivot Podcast” and he addressed the NBA rumor that he was “deeply frustrated” with the young players on the Toronto Raptors last season.

Michael Grange of Sportsnet reported that VanVleet and Pascal Siakam weren’t happy last season. The Raptors won only 41 games in 2022-23. They lost the 9-10 play-in game at home to the Chicago Bulls and didn’t qualify for the 2023 postseason and Nick Nurse was fired as head coach after the season ended.

“I think like anything, it was blown out of proportion,” VanVleet said. “And nowadays if you don’t speak to a rumor, it becomes true. What I will say is, for a team that had been the fifth seed the year before, it was a letdown for everybody. And the same way when you win a championship, everybody’s level raises, everybody gets paid and everybody wins accolades, when you underperform, it’s the same. Coach gets fired, your starting point guard is no longer there, your best player on the team is now in trade rumors every day. It goes hand in hand.

“There was a mix of guys that had been there, new guys trying to prove themselves, and it didn’t work out. It wasn’t a great fit, for whatever reason the chemistry didn’t click, and that’s probably the most I can say about that.”

VanVleet left the Raptors and joined the Rockets on a three-year, $130 million contract in free agency this summer. It will be interesting to see how patient VanVleet is in Houston. The Rockets won just 22 games last season.

With VanVleet gone, everyone around the NBA is wondering what the Raptors are going to do with Siakam, who has one year left on his contract. Several teams are interested in trading for the forward, but it’s unknown if Toronto wants to part ways with Siakam.

VanVleet and Siakam helped the Raptors win the 2019 championship over the Golden State Warriors in six games. They will be Toronto legends forever.