TORONTO – Fred VanVleet's bet on himself has finally paid off – or, in this case, paid out.

According to multiple reports, the Toronto Raptors have agreed to a two-year, $18 million deal with the free agent point guard.

Retaining VanVleet, 24, was a top priority for team president Masai Ujiri and the Raptors this off-season, and it took 10 hours after free agency opened at midnight on Sunday morning to get it done.

VanVleet, the third-place finisher in NBA Sixth Man of the Year voting, was a revelation in his sophomore season.

An afterthought following his rookie year, which saw him make 16 trips up and down from the D-League, VanVleet began last season in Dwane Casey's rotation and never relinquished the role – in fact, it only grew as the campaign went on.

Averaging 8.6 points and 3.2 assists in 20 minutes per game while shooting a team-high 41 per cent from three-point range, VanVleet established himself as the leader of arguably the best bench unit in the NBA and someone who would often close games for Casey's team.

The Raptors outscored opponents by 352 points with him on the floor – the third-best mark on the team behind DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry, and 19th-best in the league, highest of any regular reserve. His net rating (12.1) ranked fourth among qualified players, trailing only Stephen Curry, Eric Gordon and Chris Paul.

As a restricted free agent, the Raptors could have matched any offer VanVleet received, but the concern was that an interested team might backload a four-year offer sheet that would make it tough for Toronto to justify doing so. With ample cap space and a need at the point guard position, several league sources believed the Phoenix Suns to be the biggest threat to poach VanVleet.

With Phoenix using the bulk of its available funds on Trevor Ariza early on Sunday, and in a tight cap environment with few point-guard-needy teams out there, a Raptors return seemed inevitable.

The deal they settled on is mutually beneficial. After signing with Toronto as an undrafted free agent in 2016, VanVleet made less than $1.9 million in his first two NBA seasons combined. The $18 million he'll earn over the next two will be life-changing for the Rockford, Ill., native. The short term allows him to re-enter the market as an unrestricted free agent at age 26 and in the summer of 2020, when it's expected that teams will have more spending money available to them.

It also lines him up with the team's other high-priced players. The contracts of Lowry and Serge Ibaka, both signed last summer, also expire in 2020, and DeRozan can also opt out of the final season on his deal that summer.

After the VanVleet signing is made official following the league's moratorium, which ends at noon on Friday, the Raptors could have up to $134.7 million committed to 12 players for next season, putting them roughly $11 million into the luxury tax with at least two more roster spots to fill.

However, the off-season is still young, and while locking VanVleet up may have been the Ujiri's first priority, it's not his only priority. Subsequent moves are expected, as Toronto could look to shed salary and lesson its end-of-season tax bill.