VanVleet stays put; Hayward off toHornets

Fred VanVleet bet on himself. It paid off.

Gordon Hayward, meanwhile, is heading to a new home.

VanVleet agreed Saturday to a four-year, $85 million contract to remain with the Toronto Raptors, a person with direct knowledge of thediscussions told theAssociated Press on condition of anonymity because the contract remains unsigned. The fourth year of the contract is at VanVleet’s option.

The Charlotte Hornets have wantedHayward for years. On Saturday, they finally landed him, according to Priority Sports, the agency that represents the veteran forward. Apersonwith knowledge of the terms, speaking on condition of anonymity because the deal hadn’t been signed, told the AP that Hayward will sign a fouryear contract worth $120 million. ESPN first reported the agreement between Hayward and the Hornets.

VanVleet, the undrafted guard from Wichita State, has played a huge role in the Raptors’ recent successes, most importantly their run to the 2019 NBA championship. He has set career bests in scoring bywidemargins in each of the last threeseasons, thatnumber rising to 17.6 points per game this past season.

Keeping VanVleet was of major importance to the Raptors, who havewon at least 50 games in each of the last five seasons — by far the longest current streak in the NBA. Milwaukee has a two-year such streak, and the reigning NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers reached the 50-win mark last season.

It also fulfilled a VanVleet prophecy: He famously went undraftedfouryears ago, thenpassed on some low-money deals that he figured wouldn’t pan intomuch.

“I turned those down. I bet on myself,” VanVleet told friends and family on what would have been his draft night, a festive occasion that turned disappointing when the call from the NBA never came.

On Saturday, he tweeted his reaction: a retweet of himself saying “Bet on yourself“in 2016, with three moneybag emojis now attached.

TheRaptors broughthiminona summer-league deal, then a minimum deal, then gave him a twoyear contract for $18 million two years later — and nowgave him the full reward. Kyle Lowry, the veteran point guard and longtime leader of the Raptors, has predicted that VanVleet will take over that role one day. The deal agreed to on Saturday cements that thinking.

“He’s going to be rewarded,” Lowry said after the Raptors were eliminated with a Game 7 loss to Boston in this past season’s Eastern Conference semifinals. “To me, that means the world that he can take care of his family and take care of his family at a high level.” That’s no longer in doubt.

Free agency opened in the NBA on Friday evening and VanVleet was one of the top available names. TheLakers’ AnthonyDavis remains unsigned though is expected

Fred VanVleet, an undrafted free agent in 2016, has agreed to a four-year, $85 million contract to remain with the Toronto Raptors, the team he helped lead to the 2019 NBA championship.

to remain with the defending champions, and Hayward’s future was another of the top questions remaining in the league as Day 2 of free agency began Saturday.

It was not a question for long. Hayward turned down a $34 million option for this season with Boston, and the Celtics were in talks with other teams — including Indiana, which was believed to be a preference ofHayward’s— on potential sign-and-trade deals.

Instead, it appears the Celtics are seeing Hayward walk away.

Hayward agreed to a four-year offer sheet worth about $63 million with the Hornets in 2014, a deal thatwas matched by the Utah Jazz — Hayward’s original team. Hayward left the Jazz for Boston in 2017, saw his first season with the Celtics end on opening night of the 2017-18 season when he suffered a horrible lower leg injury, then averaged 14.0 points per game over the following two seasons.

VanVleet’s deal was the second major development for the Raptors in two days. On Friday, the team announced that it would begin this season by calling Tampa, Fla., home because of travel issues related to the coronavirus pandemic — specifically the challenge of getting NBA teams over a U.S.Canada border that is closed to nonessential travel.

A breakdown of moves:

Former Texas Longhorn Tristan Thompson agreed on a twoyear, $19 million contract to join

Saturday’s

Gordon Hayward’s tenure with the Celtics is over now that he’s agreed to a four-year, $120 million deal with the Hornets.

the Celtics — ending his nine-year stint with the Cleveland Cavaliers, a person with knowledge of the deal told the AP.

Thompson averaged 9.4 points and 8.7 rebounds in his nine seasons, a stint that obviously included playing a key part of helping Cleveland win its lone NBA championship in 2016. He leaves as the Cavaliers’ No. 3 career rebounder and played in 447 consecutive games from2012 through 2017.

The Lakers agreed to re-sign guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope to a three-year contract, keeping one of their most valuable players fromthis year’s championship run in purple and gold.

The deal is worth $40 million, according to people with knowledge of the agreement not authorized

to speak publicly.

Guard Rajon Rondo took to Instagram to post what appeared to be a farewell message to the Lakers, after he helped them win this past season’sNBAtitle. He thanked the team’s front office and coach Frank Vogel, among others.

He ended the post with “Now, what’s next…”

The answer came quickly. Rondo agreed later Saturday to a two-year deal with the Atlanta Hawks, a person with knowledge of the negotiations told AP.

Rondo became the latest addition in a busy two days of movement for Atlanta. The Hawks agreedwith guard Kris Dunn earlier Saturday on a two-year contract worth$10million, a secondperson told AP. And Atlanta also agreed

Friday with Danilo Gallinari on a three-year contract.

Paul Millsap is staying with the DenverNuggets on a one-year deal that will be worth around $10 million, a person with knowledge told AP. Thenews of the forward’sdecisionwas first reported by The Athletic and The Denver Post.

The Miami Heat agreed to a two-year deal starting at $5.9 million for this seasonwith top defensive guard Avery Bradley, agent Charles Briscoe said.

Bradley has averaged 11.8 points in his career. He spent last season with the Lakers but did not accompany them to the NBA restart bubble at Walt DisneyWorld. He averaged 8.6 points in 49 games, mostly starts, for the Lakers last season.

Thesecond yearof thatdeal is at the Heat option, just like the deals they struck Friday with returnees Goran Dragic and Meyers Leonard. That protects Miami’s spending flexibility for the summer of 2021.

Moe Harkless agreed to a $3.6 million contract, a person with knowledge told AP. For now, the Heat intend to use their biannual exception to land Harkless, who averaged 5.6 points in 62 games last season with the Los Angeles Clippers and New York.

Priority Sports announced that Bobby Portis, who averaged 10.1 points last season for New York, agreed to a deal with the Milwaukee Bucks. Later Saturday, a person with knowledge of the move told AP that Milwaukee and guard D.J. Augustin agreed on a three-year contract. ESPN said that deal was worth $21million.

Michael Carter-Williams is returning to the Orlando Magic on a two-year contract, a person with knowledge of the matter told AP. The Athletic first reported that agreement. Carter-Williams averaged 7.2 points in 45 games off Orlando’s bench last season.

Dwight Howard became the first announced free-agent signing of this offseason, completing his one-year, $2.6 million deal with Philadelphia. He signed Saturday; players on certain kinds of contracts, like the veteran minimum one he agreed to Friday night, did not have to wait for the traditional signing period to begin Sunday.

Forward Jae Crowder, a big part of Miami’s run last season to the NBA Finals, agreed on a threeyear contract that will be worth nearly$30million tojoin thePhoenix Suns, according to a person familiar with those negotiations.

Crowder became a starter last season for the Heat and averaged 12.0 points in Miami’s playoff run. He becomes another key veteran addition to the Suns, who fswung a trade earlier this month for AllStar point guard Chris Paul to play alongside All-Star shooting guard Devin Booker.

Carmelo Anthony is coming back for an 18th season, agreeing Saturday night on a one-year deal to remain with the Portland Trail Blazers, a person with knowledge of the agreement confirmed to AP.

Portland gave Anthony an opportunity to extend his career last season and he rewarded the Blazers by starting all 58 of his appearances and averaging 15.4 points.