VanVleet to Houston; many big names stay put as NBA free agency opens

NEW YORK: Fred VanVleet bet on himself, and the Houston Rockets are the beneficiaries.

On an opening night of free agency where most big names — Kyrie Irving, Draymond Green, Khris Middleton, Kyle Kuzma and more — stayed put, VanVleet is headed to a new home. He agreed to a three-year deal Friday with the Rockets that’ll pay him about $130 million, a person with knowledge of the negotiations told The Associated Press.

ESPN first reported the agreement between VanVleet and the Rockets.

VanVleet — who famously uses the phrase “bet on yourself” to describe his career trajectory from undrafted player to NBA champion with the Toronto Raptors — will make about $525,000 per game over the next three seasons.

That nearly matches what he made as a rookie in Toronto, total — about $550,000.

“Love seeing guys getting paid,” Boston star Jayson Tatum tweeted.

And a whole bunch of them did on Friday night — with more to come.

Irving and Luka Doncic are going to try again together in Dallas. Green is going to chase more championships with Stephen Curry in Golden State, just like Middleton is alongside Giannis Antetokounmpo in Milwaukee.

And Jerami Grant is staying put in Portland, for serious money. All those decisions came quickly Friday night as free agency in the NBA got off to its traditional fast and free-spending start — with roughly $1.5 billion in deals getting struck in about the first three hours alone.

Irving agreed to a three-year, $126 million deal to remain with the Mavericks, who acquired him in a splashy move in February but sputtered down the stretch and missed the playoffs. A person with knowledge of the negotiations confirmed the agreement to The Associated Press, the deal taking quite possibly the biggest