The Toronto Raptors and three-and-D guard Gary Trent Jr. parted ways this offseason as he signed a one-year contract to join Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks. It was a surprising minimum deal for the 25-year-old, but a dry free agent market forced him to take a potentially below market value deal.
Trent and the Raptors were no longer on the same timeline, with the guard being capable of contributing to winning basketball and Toronto needing the 2024-2025 season to retool around Scottie Barnes. And it’s clear that the parting of ways was not due to any kind of dramatic fallout.
Trent confirmed this with a lovely goodbye message to the city of Toronto, along with Raptors fans and the organizationin an Instagram post after ending his 3.5-year tenure with the team.
Trent started in 169 games out of 224 games in his four years with the Raptors. He averaged 16.4 points per game on 42.2% from the field and 38% from beyond the arc. His 2021-2022 campaign in Toronto — Trent’s first full season with the team — was arguably the best of his career.
He averaged 18.3 points and 1.7 steals — both career bests — on 38.3% from three and another career-best 85.3% from the free throw line.
Bucks sign Gary Trent Jr./h2>
Now Trent gets a new challenge with the Bucks, as they’ll look for him to be a major contributor on a championship contender for the first time in his career.
The Bucks are going to need every bit of Trent’s shooting and defense to try and make up for a dismal 2023-2024 season that saw an injury to Antetkounmpo derail their title hopes in Damian Lillard’s first campaign with the team.
Trent is likely to come off the bench, as he isn’t the best fit on paper next to Lillard, but he’ll bring some scoring pop in the second unit next to players like Bobby Portis and Pat Connaughton.
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