Gary Trent Jr. Has Big Goals that Raptors May Not Be Able to Fit as Free Agency Looms

The Toronto Raptors need shooters like Gary Trent Jr., but the 24-year-old's lofty goals may not fit with the organization's view moving forward

John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports

Gary Trent Jr. dreams big.

It’s hard to be an NBA player without having lofty goals. He’s not satisfied with being a role player or put into a box as a one-dimensional scorer. He sees himself as more.

“I want to be first-team defense, make a [All] Defensive team, win championships, win MVPs, win everything,” he said Thursday less than 24 hours after the Toronto Raptors bowed out of the play-in tournament. “I work hard every day to try to accomplish those things and try to put myself in a certain position to get those things.”

And that’s where things get complicated.

Trent is heading into unrestricted free agency this summer. Toronto maintains his Bird Rights, meaning the team can go over the salary cap to re-sign him, but there will be at least a handful of teams with cap space and a need for a 24-year-old with a career 38.4% three-point percentage.

What that means for Trent is unclear. He’s professed his love for Toronto as a city, but it wasn’t lost on him when the organization brought in Jakob Poeltl at the trade deadline, and he was relegated to the bench with shrinking minutes. He’d averaged 33 minutes per game prior to Poeltl’s arrival. Once Poeltl got settled in, that number fell to 26.

“You’ve got certain dreams, certain goals, and certain things you want to accomplish and certain places you can do it and certain places you can’t do it,” Trent said of his free agency. “It just comes with the game. Again, it’s a business. After taking everything into consideration I’m going to see what it’s going to be.”

Then there’s Trent’s relationship with head coach Nick Nurse that seems, um, complicated. Nurse has been publicly critical of Trent’s defense on numerous occasions, as Trent was quick to point out Thursday.

At times, that strategy has worked for Nurse who has seen his players respond to his public criticism. Other times, though, it hasn’t gone over quite as well.

“Usually, half the time, most of the time, I don’t hear it until you hear it,” said Trent, a concerning comment suggesting a lack of communication between the two. “I wouldn’t know that it was an issue or relevant until you put it out there.”

Toronto needs players like Trent. Not only was he second on the team in scoring this past season, averaging 17.4 points per game, but he’s one of the team’s few reliable floor spacers. But keeping him around isn’t as simple as just offering Trent a deal and assuming he’s going to come running back for the same role.

He sees himself as more than a sixth man. The question is do the Raptors? 

Further Reading

Pascal Siakam says he'd 'love' to be in Toronto but his Raptors future remains complicated

Scottie Barnes acknowledges DeMar DeRozan's daughter may have effected Raptors

Raptors season ends at free throw line as 2nd half collapse proves costly vs Bulls