Gary Trent Jr. opts into player option with Toronto Raptors
Gary Trent Jr. is set to remain with the Toronto Raptors. Trent elected to exercise his $18.5 dollar player option for the 2023-24 NBA Season, according to Bleacher Report NBA insider Chris Haynes.
Toronto Raptors guard Gary Trent Jr. will opt into his $18.5 million player option for the 2023-24 season, CEO Rich Paul and agent Lucas Newton of Klutch Sports tells @NBAonTNT, @BleacherReport.
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) June 20, 2023
Haynes added that Trent wants to stay in Toronto long term and the two sides are expected to discuss an extension.
Gary Trent Jr. wants to remain with the Toronto Raptors and both sides will work on a longer term deal.
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) June 20, 2023
The Raptors are facing a handful of questions this offseason. After a disappointing season, the Raptors must decide if they want to embrace a rebuild. It does not help that several players could be leaving the team this offseason. When free agency comes around, Fred VanVleet will be on the open market after declining his player option. Similarly, center Jakob Poeltl will be an unrestricted free agent.
Pascal Siakam and OG Anunoby are also nearing the end of their deals in the coming offseasons which makes them potential trade candidates.
It appears like Trent will be a Raptor for the long haul. That should not come as a surprise as the 24-year-old could fit a win-now timeline while being young enough to stick around if the team looks to retool with young pieces.
In 2022-23, Trent took a slight step back, but he was still productive. He averaged 17.4 points, 2.6 rebounds, 1.6 assists and an outstanding 1.6 steals per game. The major issue for Trent was that he was less efficient from behind the arc as he dropped to 36.9 percent from long range. Aside from his rookie season, that was the lowest of his career. In fairness, those struggles are, in part, due to the Raptors in offensive struggles.
In an already weak free agency class, Trent would have been one of the top guards on the market. This decision will certainly be bad news for teams that wanted to land a young productive guard in free agency.
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