After solid year with Raptors, Trent Jr.‘s future a key off-season question
MIAMI – Gary Trent Jr. has a lot be proud of this season, which may be his last as a Toronto Raptor.
It’s not certain this it it, though., Trent Jr. could sign a contract this summer that keeps him with the club for years to come.
Like a lot of things around the team as the off-season approaches, we’ll see.
Trent Jr. will finish the 2023-24 season as the team’s leader in games played, steals, three pointers made and three-point percentage and sits second in total points. He’s done it coming off the bench, as a starter and for long stretches as their primary offensive option. as the roster turned over for various reasons.
But as the Raptors wind up their regular season with a working vacation in Miami, closing out with games Friday night and Sunday, Trent Jr. is prouder of his process than the result.
“Just being 10 toes down, no matter what situation is going on,” he said Friday when reflecting on his season. “Staying solid, being a good teammate no matter how I’m being treated or what’s going on or thrown my way. Just staying solid, really just all the way through, and being able to finish the year healthy and going out there and trying to continue to keep playing.”
It’s not a bad way to view a Raptors season that started with high hopes and ended with a collective ‘what can you do?’ shrug.
On Friday night, they did what they’ve done since Scottie Barnes and Jakob Poeltl were lost for the season with hand injuries as the Heat mostly coasted to a 125-103 win. The Raptors – even at relatively full-strength, less Barnes and Poeltl – simply couldn’t gather enough stops to be competitive.
The loss dripped Toronto to 25-56 and guarantees them the sixth-worst record in the NBA. At the draft lottery on May 12, Toronto will have a 45.8-per-cent chance to pick 1-4 or sixth. If they don’t pick in the top six, their pick will go to the San Antonio Spurs.
The Heat (46-35), who are in eighth place in the East but still with a chance to move up in the standings, shot 52.3 per cent from the floor and 41.5 per cent from three, with a lot of shots at the rim and a lot of open looks from three.
Most of the Raptors were ordinary, with the exception of RJ Barrett, who finished with 35 points, his second highest total of the season. The Canadian did it on 13-of-18 shooting. His big night pushed Barrett’s scoring average to 20.1 for the season, a new career high.
But, overall, Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic wasn’t pleased with his team’s defensive focus – “I don’t think we did a good enough job staying in front of the ball … and on our rotations, the communication piece wasn’t there” – or their ball movement on a night when Toronto had 23 assists and 17 turnovers.
“This is the NBA, it’s the best league in the world. “We can’t take anything for granted,” he said in his post-match message.
The Raptors entered the game 10-for-31 from 3-point range on the night, and it was tough for Trent Jr., who went 13-for-13 from 3-point range in the game and 1 from. -7 background. It was a night.
But it wasn’t a game. Don’t get me wrong, it’s been a great year for Trent Jr. he’s been solid during his time as an underdog in Toronto.
“Gary is an amazing guy. I’m very grateful for his perseverance,” Rajakovic said. “He’s a hard worker. He is a high level competitor. He brings it every day ..I think he’s gotten better and better as a player as the season goes on. Not only is he a catch-and-shoot threat, but his finishing ability has improved. He improved his cut score.
Defensively he plays very well when he plays as a football defender. He showed a lot of good things.
He also impressed his teammates who have known him for a long time.
“I’ve known Gary since high school. I’ve known Gary for a while because I played [under 17 basketball] with him. said Raptors guard Immanuel Quickley, who arrived in Toronto midway through the season. “I knew he was a good shooter, a very good shooter. I didn’t know he was a good defender. His on-ball defense was outstanding. His competitiveness, his spirit and his spirit were outstanding. It’s really a joy to have a teammate like that.
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Will they be teammates next season? Quickley is a restricted free agent the Raptors will likely do everything possible to keep, but what happens with Trent Jr. is one of the bigger questions the team will face. The Raptors were somewhat surprised when Trent Jr. opted into the final year of a three-year deal worth $52 million, forgoing free agency last summer.
And it was arguably surprising that they didn’t move Trent at the trade deadline once the Raptors had flipped over to rebuild mode. That they didn’t suggests that they have plans to keep the six-year-veteran, but then again if they don’t or they can’t, he wouldn’t be – ahem – the first quality player the Raptors lose in free agency without compensation.
And while there is a world where the Raptors don’t re-sign their free agents to use the cap space to take in a player by trade, mostly the sense you get is the Raptors would like to keep Trent Jr. given three-point shooting is a vital currency in the league and the recently turned 25-year-old is one of the best at his craft.
There are only 12 players in the NBA this season who have averaged 39 per cent from three, played at least 60 games and averaged six attempts per game, and Trent Jr. is one of them.
In his three full seasons with.
