{"id":51411,"date":"2023-07-01T09:36:05","date_gmt":"2023-07-01T13:36:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=51411"},"modified":"2023-07-01T09:36:05","modified_gmt":"2023-07-01T13:36:05","slug":"fred-vanvleet-is-now-a-rocket","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2023\/07\/01\/fred-vanvleet-is-now-a-rocket\/","title":{"rendered":"Fred Van Vleet is Now A Rocket"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">In an incredibly busy day in NBA Free agency, former Raptors Guard <\/span><a class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com\/nba\/player\/_\/id\/2991230\/fred-vanvleet\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Fred Van Vleet <\/span><\/strong><\/a><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">signed with the Houston Rockets.\u00a0<\/span><a class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sportingnews.com\/us\/nba\/news\/fred-vanvleet-contract-details-rockets-highest-paid-guards\/mqdqx9ruybduvwjat5q3gytk\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Signing a 3-year, $130 million deal,<\/span><\/a><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> VanVleet will be the number one option on a Houston team trying to make some noise this season.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>Fred Van Vleet Gets Major Bag From the Houston Rockets<\/h2>\n<h3><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Background\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2023\/06\/13\/nba-rumors-13-potential-landing-spots-for-fred-vanvleet-after-declining-player-option\/\" target=\"_self\">Fred was a terrific player<\/a> at Witchita State,\u00a0<\/span><a class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sports-reference.com\/cbb\/players\/fred-van-vleet-1.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">where he averaged 10.2 points and 4.5 assists while shooting 38.6%<\/span><\/a><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> from three for his career. Furthermore, Van Vleet is an NBA Champion with the Raptors and is coming off another solid season in Toronto. Fred <\/span><a class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/sports.yahoo.com\/nba\/players\/5727\/?fr=yhssrp_catchall\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">averaged 19.3, 4.1 rebounds, and 7.2 assists<\/span><\/a><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">.\u00a0<\/span><a class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thestar.com\/sports\/raptors\/2023\/07\/01\/bet-on-yourself-fred-vanvleets-career-highlights-with-the-raptors.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">He was also an All-Star in the 2021-2022 season<\/span><\/a><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">. Fred has started strong in his NBA career and looks to continue it in Houston.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">What Van Vleet Brings the Rockets?<\/span><\/h3>\n<h4><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Ball Control\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Fred is a terrific decision-maker, averaging\u00a0<\/span><a class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/v\/vanvlfr01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">7.2 assists and only two turnovers this past season.<\/span><\/a><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u00a0Houston is a young team and\u00a0<\/span><a class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/www.statmuse.com\/nba\/ask\/team-most-turnovers-nba-2023#:~:text=Team%20Most%20Turnovers%20NBA%202023%20%7C%20StatMuse%20The,by%20a%20team%20this%20season%20with%201%2C336%20turnovers.\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">was second<\/span><\/a><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> in the league in turnovers per game at 16.2. Therefore, Van Vleet corrects that deficiency in Houston because he takes great care of the basketball. He had the ball in his hands a lot, so his ball control will move Houston closer to relevancy in the NBA.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h4><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Veteran Presence<\/span><\/h4>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Again, Houston is a very young team that lacks veteran leadership. While Van Vleet is not an old NBA player, he brings experience that helps these younger players grow. He also brings winning experience, as <\/span><a class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com\/nba\/player\/stats\/_\/id\/2991230\/type\/nba\/seasontype\/3\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">he made the playoffs in three of the last five seasons in Toronto<\/span><\/a><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">. Therefore, the Rockets&#8217; core will have someone who knows how to win.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Also, he will be good for\u00a0<\/span><a class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com\/nba\/player\/_\/id\/4684740\/amen-thompson\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Amen Thompson<\/span><\/strong><\/a><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">. He can teach Amen how to take care of the basketball, and how to lead the team from the point guard position. Therefore, Amen can be the point guard of the future and get advice on how to win from VanVleet.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h4><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Shot Maker\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Although Fred possesses important skills for the Rockets&#8217; team, at his best, Van Vleet is a shot-maker. He averaged 17 or more points in the <\/span><a class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nba.com\/stats\/player\/1627832\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">last four seasons<\/span><\/a><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">. He shoots the three at a good percentage, can get to the basket, makes free throws, and has a midrange game to his skill set. Fred brings a scoring punch to the Rockets team and is a guy who can make shots in big moments. Therefore, the Rockets got an excellent offensive addition to their squad.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Last Word<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Fred Van Vleet is an excellent pickup in free agency. He brings leadership, scoring, ball control, and toughness into Houston. Van Vleet helps the Rockets find success this season. Houston still has work to do to fill out the rest of their roster, but Van Vleet is a step in the right direction.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In an incredibly busy day in NBA Free agency, former Raptors Guard Fred Van Vleet signed with the Houston Rockets.\u00a0Signing a 3-year, $130 million deal, VanVleet will be the number one option on a Houston team trying to make some noise this season.\u00a0 Fred Van Vleet Gets Major Bag From the Houston Rockets Background\u00a0 Fred [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4688,"featured_media":51416,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[31,62,4721],"tags":[1244],"class_list":["post-51411","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-rockets","category-nba","category-trade-rumors","tag-fred-vanvleet"],"modified_by":"Zach Kircher","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51411","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4688"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=51411"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51411\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/51416"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=51411"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=51411"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=51411"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}