Former Duke Basketball Guard Decides to Remain in Canada
Gary Trent Jr. could have opted out of the final year of his contract with the Toronto Raptors and become an unrestricted free agent this summer. Instead, the 2017-18 Duke basketball one-and-done has decided to stick around in Toronto, according to a tweet from NBA insider Chris Haynes on Tuesday afternoon.
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Haynes added that Trent, set to earn over $18 million next season and play for first-year NBA head coach Darko Rajakovic, hopes to be with the Raptors for many years. He will now work toward signing a longer-term deal.
The 6-foot-5 shooting guard, who went No. 37 overall to the Portland Trail Blazers at the 2018 NBA Draft, has been in Toronto for three years following a few seasons with the Blazers.
Last season, he played in 66 games and drew 44 starts for a Raptors squad that finished 41-41 before losing to the Chicago Bulls in the NBA Play-In Tournament.
After averaging 17.4 points, 2.6 rebounds, 1.6 assists, and 1.6 steals per game, there's no doubt the career 38.4 percent 3-point shooter would have been a coveted player on the free-agency market. Earlier this month, there were reports of the Orlando Magic, not to mention several others, eyeing the savvy Duke basketball talent.
But again, Gary Trent Jr. isn't going anywhere.
As things stand, the 25-year-old is the only Blue Devil on contract with the Toronto Raptors.
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