John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports
Gary Trent Jr. is Finally Comfortable & Thrilled to be in Toronto, His Father Says
Gary Trent Jr. is finally comfortable.
Last year was a wash for Trent was picked up by the Toronto Raptors mid-season from the Portland Trail Blazers in a deal for Norman Powell. He joined a team with no real direction, or at least not a positive one, and his upcoming free agency hung a cloud over his final two months of the season.
"I think last year he came and treated as a rental and a little bit of uncertainty in terms of his free agency status and contract status," said Fred VanVleet. "He was a little more closed off and things like that."
This year, it's been a full 180 from the 23-year-old guard who has been playing the best basketball of his career. He's no longer looking over his shoulder, worrying about when his coach is going to yank him back to the bench after a slip-up.
“When I come and visit my son now in Toronto, he’s in a much happier place mentally, spiritually, and he smiles more,” Trent's father, Gary Trent Sr. told Sportsnet's The Raptors Show with Will Lou. “He’s looking forward to practice, he’s looking forward to the games, and I can see the love for the game blossoming within him again.”
That was not the case in Portland where Trent spent the better part of three seasons after being selected 37th overall in the 2018 NBA Draft, Trent Sr. said.
“My son played with so much pain, and my son was so depressed and so down and so sad in Portland, that watching him play actually used to hurt me,” said Trent Sr. who spent one season with the Raptors in 1998 “I knew my son wasn’t feeling himself, wasn’t playing his game, he was under a lot of negative pressure (from) negative statements from front office people.”
Portland's front office has undergone a total transformation following Trent's departure. Former general manager and president of basketball operations Neil Olshey was fired in December 2021 after an investigation into allegations that he created a toxic workplace environment.
So much of success in the NBA is about finding the right fit. Everyone in the league is talented, everyone deserves a spot on a roster. So often it comes down to a player's willingness to improve and a coaching staff putting that player in the right situation to make those necessary improvements.
"There's a lot of great players in this league but it's really just the opportunity that they get to showcase what they do," Trent Jr. said. "The coaching staff believes in them and the coaching staff helps you, that's the product of it. "
That's what Trent Jr. is finding in Toronto. He finally has a coaching staff and a team that are welcoming him with open arms and allowing him to be himself.
"God bless that my son won on that deal to get in a better opportunity,” Trent Sr. said.
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