Fred VanVleet’s Rockets contract includes team option for third year

Though he’s regarded around the NBA as a very good player on both offense and defense, new Rockets point guard Fred VanVleet isn’t viewed by most as elite. Thus, when Houston signed him to what was reportedly a three-year, $130-million deal on the first day of 2023 free agency, that maximum-salaried contract raised eyebrows.

While the potential of Houston giving a maximum deal to VanVleet was previously reported, all indications prior to free agency were that it would be a two-year deal, rather than three. In effect, Rockets general manager Rafael Stone was willing to overpay slightly in terms of annual value for the added flexibility of a shorter contract.

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Ultimately, that’s what happened, even though it didn’t initially appear to be the case when Friday’s news leaked of an agreement between VanVleet and the Rockets. Per Jackson Gatlin of Locked on Rockets, the three-year deal includes a team option for the third season. That effectively makes it a two-year contract for purposes of the Rockets and their long-term salary cap planning.

In many ways, it’s a similar template to what Stone and the Rockets have used in the past. Last summer, when Houston extended Jae’Sean Tate, the deal was initially reported as three years for over $22 million. News didn’t emerge until days later that the final season was a team option, again making it basically a two-year deal.

Conceptually, the idea is for the team to let the player and his agent initially leak the deal through the most player-friendly lens. In exchange for allowing that public relations boost, perhaps Stone and the Rockets can benefit from related tradeoffs and concessions.

Whatever the case, the bottom line is VanVleet only has two years of guaranteed maximum salary from Houston, rather than three.