Coming off of a breakout season as a …

Coming off of a breakout season as a member of the Raptors’ vaunted Bench Mob, VanVleet had just signed a new two-year contract and was hanging out-slash-celebrating in Las Vegas during Summer League. Among other young players who might fit the company’s new vision for the brand, they had eyes for VanVleet. Garnett remained a powerful tool for getting the ball rolling. “K.G. was just getting back in the picture. They had K.G. running, like, the head of brand direction, so I got to sit through a meeting with him, which was cool. At Summer League, up in the concourse, while the games were going on,” VanVleet said. “They offered a nice deal, and I liked the direction.”