Fred VanVleet's $130M Max Contract with Rockets Stuns NBA Twitter | News, Scores, Highlights, Stats, and Rumors

The Houston Rockets landed arguably the first major surprise of the 2023 NBA offseason.

ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported they agreed to a three-year, $130 million contract with point guard Fred VanVleet on Friday. VanVleet has never played for an NBA team outside of the Toronto Raptors but will now attempt to lead the Rockets back into contention.

The deal inspired a variety of reactions on social media with many praising the undrafted free agent for landing such a contract and others rather shocked at how much money the Rockets are paying him:

Bleacher Report @BleacherReport

Fred VanVleet is signing a three-year, $130M deal with the Rockets, per <a href="">@wojespn</a> <a href="">

Matt Carey @RealMattCarey

Tremendous comedy in Harden spending six months leaking to everyone who would listen that he would go back to Houston and then Houston says "no thanks, we'd rather give Fred VanVleet $130 million"

Josh Lewenberg @JLew1050

Fred VanVleet made $543,471 as an undrafted rookie in 2016. The deal he signed with the Raptors in 2020 was worth $21.3 million annually, making him the highest-paid undrafted player in NBA history. Now, he'll make $43.3 million each of his next 3 seasons. Bet on Yourself, indeed

StatMuse @statmuse

Fred VanVleet journey:<br><br>— Undrafted<br>— Champion<br>— Signed largest contract ever for an undrafted player ($85M)<br>— Now, $43M per year <a href="">

myles brown @mdotbrown

Fred Vanvleet isn't worth 3/$130M if he actually was Drake

theScore @theScore

Fred VanVleet when the Rockets said how much they were willing to pay: <a href="">

William Lou @william_lou

He won <a href=""> <a href="">

Legion Hoops @LegionHoops

Respect to Fred VanVleet 💯 <br><br>Undrafted to $43M a year. 😳 <a href="">

Hoop Central @TheHoopCentral

Fred VanVleet was undrafted, played in the G-League, and is now making $43 Million per year…Nothing but respect. 🔥 <a href="">

Bruce Arthur @bruce_arthur

Also, that is a HUGE number for Fred. Good for him, but it's an overpay.

There is plenty to like about VanVleet's game, especially at 29 years old and presumably in the middle of his prime.

He averaged 19.3 points, 7.2 assists, 4.1 rebounds and 1.8 steals per game last season as someone who was a go-to option for Toronto and relied upon to set up others in position to score. While his efficiency is a concern after he shot 39.3 percent from the field last season, he did connect on a solid but unspectacular 34.2 percent of his triples.

The 2019 champion is a playoff-tested veteran who comes to a Rockets team that has been in rebuilding mode of late.

However, Houston had plenty of cap space this offseason and clearly was looking to improve its standing in the Western Conference. Perhaps with another addition or two alongside VanVleet, it can be a threat to make a playoff run.