New Rockets star Fred VanVleet reveals he left Toronto because ‘Houston is a great place to be’

The Rockets expect to finally leave the Western Conference’s basement after several years of struggling at the lower end of standings. With the arrival of new coach Ime Udoka and star players like Fred VanVleet, Houston hopes for a fresh start this upcoming season.

During a recent interview with The Athletic’s Kelly Iko, the former Raptors guard explained what motivated him to sign a three-year, $128 million contract in Texas.

“Houston is a great place to be,” the 29-year-old said. “I had to evaluate the options that were on the table and for me, at the time, it was the best option. I went with what made the most sense for me and my family. Just from mingling and meeting with the guys, Ime is a huge reason (I came). Meeting with Stone and management and them giving me their vision of where they are and where I am in my career, it’s a perfect match. Just excited to be here.”

Check out the video above as a couple of months ago, the ex-Toronto player also went into details between playing for his former club and continuing his NBA career in Houston.

As the Rockets only earned 22 victories last season, they hope VanVleet can bring his 2022/23 averages of 19.3 points, 4.1 rebounds and 7.2 assists to Texas.

According to NBA insider Keith Smith, a Rockets executive explained in detail what they are expecting from VanVleet this season. It seems that the Houston franchise believes he will bring out the best in their roster’s young core.

“Fred is going to be so great for us as an organizer,” the executive said. “He’ll enhance Jalen, Jabari and Kevin in a big way. Some think Fred and Dillon (Brooks) are going to take reps away from the kids, but we don’t see it that way. They are going to help those guys grow up quicker than they would have otherwise. Same with Jeff Green. We’re excited about getting them in the gym with the young guys.”

Coach Udoka explained Houston’s free-agency pursuit of VanVleet over superstar James Harden

There’s been a lot of talk ever since James Harden requested a trade out of Philadelphia this summer, as many insiders placed him either representing the Clippers badge, or even returning back to Houston for a second spell. Well, now we know that most of those rumors were true, as new Rockets coach Ime Udoka admitted that he had to make a decision between signing The Beard or Fred VanVleet.

The former Boston boss is about to enter his first season in Texas, and appeared in an interview with ESPN’s Zach Lowe to discuss several subjects, including the team’s free-agency pursuit of VanVleet.

Rockets coach Ime Udoka explained why the team chose to sign Fred VanVleet over pursuing James Harden https://t.co/Df7k7utqpP

— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) October 5, 2023

“Nothing against James,” he started off. “Fred is just a better fit. I coached James in Brooklyn. He’s one of the smartest players I’ve ever been around. The words ‘Ime doesn’t want James’ never came out of my mouth. It was, ‘Let’s look at the best fit.’ If we want Jalen and the young guys to take the next steps, we need them to have the ball. As for me saying I don’t want James, that was never the case. It was about fit.”

It seems like things are finally coming back to normal in Philly, as The Beard appeared in the club’s training camp this week. Even though the player still expects to be traded out before the start of the campaign, he decided it was a smarter move to reunite and workout with his teammates.