Nick Nurse Sends Message to Gary Trent Jr: Raptors Need Him to 'Be a Disruptor'

The Toronto Raptors need Gary Trent Jr. to get back to being the defensive pest he was last season or his days with the organization could be numbered

Aaron Rose | Nov 22, 2022

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A year ago at this time, Gary Trent Jr. was among the NBA's peskiest defenders. He'd gone from a defensive liability in Portland to a defensive difference-maker for the Toronto Raptors. The development was astonishing, frankly, almost comical.

"Gary is one of the best players I've ever seen, like, no offense, not play defense, then all of the sudden become a good defender," Khem Birch joked on Nov. 4 of last year. "It's just crazy. I swear I've never seen that before. He can be one of the best two-way players."

Trent was averaging 4.1 deflections per game at this time last season, the second most in the league. He'd generated 38 steals at the time too, tied for the third most in the league, and it wasn't hard to envision him becoming a long-term piece for the Raptors as a truly valuable two-way player, the kind Toronto has coveted over recent years.

These days, though, Trent's defensive intensity has fallen off significantly. He's no longer the pest he showed he could be last season and if that doesn't change, his days in Toronto could be numbered.

"It’s disappointing," Raptors coach Nick Nurse said of Trent's lack of deflections and steals this season. "I would say that’s been a little bit of negative because he’s capable of really getting after the ball and getting his hands on the ball a lot and that’s what we want him to do.

"We’re going to get him his shots and get him his points but we want him to be a disruptor. He kinda fits us if he does that, and if he doesn’t, he doesn’t fit us. We need to get him back."

So far this year, Trent is averaging just 2.4 deflections per game, down from the 3.4 he finished last season with. His steals too have fallen from 1.7 last season to 1.4 this year.

Part of that, Nurse acknowledged, could just be some injuries Trent is working through. The 23-year-old guard had been battling a hip injury before a non-COVID illness knocked him out of the lineup. Trent brushed off the notion that he's not been 100% lately, but he certainly didn't sound fully healthy following Tuesday's practice.

Trent's name is going to start popping up in plenty of trade rumors over the next few months. For one, he's a young and talented shooter and every team could use more of that. More important, though, is his contract. He has a player option for next season that he'll likely opt out of and with the way the market for young shooters developed this past summer, there's little doubt Trent is in line for a big payday this offseason.

The last time Toronto faced a similar decision in 2021, Norman Powell was sent packing, ironically in the deal that brought Trent to the Raptors. With Powell, the story was very much the same. He'd developed into everything the Raptors could have hoped for on the offensive end but his defense was never quite as good as Toronto needed. With his payday approaching two years ago, Toronto opted to part ways with him rather than let him walk in free agency.

Nothing is going to happen soon with Trent. The trade deadline is still over two months away and the Raptors aren't going to make any rash decisions with Trent. But, if his defense doesn't improve, his Toronto tenure could be coming to an end.

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