NBA Game Action: 1/7/2023

Times are CENTRAL

-	Visitor	-	Home	Time
	BOSTON (27-12) CELTICS		SAN ANTONIO (13-26) SPURS	5:00pm
	UTAH (20-21) JAZZ		CHICAGO (18-21) BULLS	7:00pm
	NEW ORLEANS (24-15) PELICANS		DALLAS (22-17) MAVERICKS	7:00pm
	ORLANDO (14-25) MAGIC		GOLDEN STATE (20-19) WARRIORS	7:30pm
	LOS ANGELES (18-21) LAKERS		SACRAMENTO (20-17) KINGS	9:00pm

 

https://www.tsn.ca/nba/raptors-failing-vanvleet-not-the-other-way-around-1.1902908
Prior to the start of the season, VanVleet turned down a contract extension valued at roughly $114 million, the maximum Toronto could offer at the time, according to a source. He’s eligible to sign an extension up to that value until the end of the campaign, but considering he can make more in free agency and he literally wears the mantra “Bet on Yourself” across his chest, it’s not a surprise that he would prefer to let his current deal expire before negotiating a new one.

In terms of what VanVleet will be looking for on the open market, the four-year, $130 million deal that Tyler Herro got last fall is expected to be the baseline. Officially, the Raptors don’t have to decide whether they’re going to be the team that gives it to him until July. Essentially, though, they’ve got to make that decision over the next five weeks, ahead of the Feb. 9 trade deadline, or they risk losing him for nothing.

Committing that much long-term money, or more, to an undersized guard who has accumulated a ton of miles, battled injuries and will turn 29 next month isn’t a no-brainer.