3 Lofty Goals for Milwaukee Bucks Newcomer Gary Trent Jr.

According to many NBA observers, the Milwaukee Bucks engineered one of the biggest steals in free agency this summer when they signed Gary Trent Jr. to a veteran's minimum contract. Here are three goals for the new Bucks shooting guard.

Toronto Raptors guard Gary Trent Jr. (33) shoots the ball against the Indiana Pacers in the first half at Scotiabank Arena. / Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images

MILWAUKEE — Just 25 years old, Gary Trent Jr. has established himself as a reliable double-figure scorer and one of the NBA's best outside shooters. That the Milwaukee Bucks could sign him to a veteran's minimum contract this summer stands as one of the biggest steals of free agency.

At 6-foot-5, the former Duke star can play shooting guard and small forward, giving Milwaukee options with its first and second units. Trent Jr.'s career 39 percent accuracy on three-pointers could add even more firepower to a Bucks team that ranked fourth last season in effective field goal percentage.

Here are three benchmarks for Trent Jr. in 2024-25 that could be predictors of success.

No.1 - Average three or more triples per game

Trent Jr. has achieved this benchmark twice in his six NBA seasons, and there are good reasons to think he can do it this year:

• Defenses will be focused on limiting the damage from the Bucks' three All-Stars — Giannis Antetokounmpo, Damian Lillard, and Khris Middleton — so Trent Jr. should get his open looks.
• Assuming also that Trent Jr. continues to play 28-32 minutes a game, as he did in Toronto, the opportunities may be plentiful.

Effective three-point shooting spaces the floor and keeps defenses honest. Trent Jr.'s success will make life easier for the Bucks offense.

No. 2 - Average 1.5 or more steals

As much as Milwaukee will need to rely on his perimeter shooting, they also will need Trent Jr. to cover up Lillard's defensive deficiencies by taking on the tougher guard matchups.

Having gained a reputation as a gambler on defense, Trent Jr. twice averaged better than 1.5 steals in Toronto. Only six players averaged 1.5 or more steals per game last season.

At 6-foot-5 with a 6-foot-9 wingspan, Trent Jr. is lengthy enough to disrupt passing lanes and rack up deflections. He has averaged 1.2 steals per game across his seven-year playing career.

No. 3 - 83 percent or better from the free-throw line on 200-plus attempts

This benchmark will depend on playing time and shot selection.

Trent Jr. twice took 200-plus free throws and made 83% or better, but he also averaged four to six more minutes on court than his career average. Last year while averaging 28 minutes a night — his lowest figure in five seasons — Trent Jr. shot more threes than twos and, as might be expected, fewer than 100 free throws.

So the more reasonable goal could be the free-throw accuracy, which will help.

Since 2017-18, the Bucks have found themselves in the bottom half of the league in team free-throw percentage. The biggest part of that is Giannis, who has averaged 70 percent during his 11-year career.

Free throws made and missed are often the difference in close games. As a career 81.9 percent free-throw shooter, Trent Jr. joins Lillard (92 percent in 2023-24) and Middleton (83.3 percent in 2023-24) as trusted ballhandlers at crunch time.

For his six seasons, Trent Jr. has connected on 83 percent of his free throws twice. It's doable, but in this offense 200 attempts may be a long shot.

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