VanVleet says he wants to stay in Toronto: 'I love it here'

Fred VanVleet is the only Toronto Raptors rotation player slated for free agency this summer.

The upstart undrafted point guard will be a restricted free agent and the Raptors will have his Early Bird rights, so they can match any offer and go over the cap to bring him back. But, barring a salary-shedding trade, re-signing him would take them into the luxury tax, which may not be palatable for a team that just got swept out of the second round.

VanVleet, to the extent that he has a choice in the matter, says he'd love to stay in Toronto.

"Winning comes first," the 24-year-old told reporters at the Raptors' locker-room cleanout media availability on Tuesday. "I'm restricted, so it's not like I have the ultimate green light to just go choose a place I wanna go. There's gonna be some restriction in that area. (But) I love it here. This is the place that gave me a chance, gave me an opportunity, whether it's the organization, coaching staff. I'm a loyal guy, always have been.

"Hopefully things work out. But I understand there's a business at the end of the day.

The Raptors signed VanVleet as an undrafted free agent in the summer of 2016, and in his second season in the league he blossomed into perhaps the most crucial component of the Raptors' vaunted bench. He finished the season averaging 8.6 points and 3.2 assists on .426/.414/.832 shooting across 76 games, while posting the third-best individual net rating (12.1) in the NBA.