Gary Trent Jr.'s Contract Likely Impacted by Latest Free Agency News

Toronto Raptors guard Gary Trent Jr.'s next contract will likely be impacted by the precedent set by Malik Monk and the Sacramento Kings

Apr 9, 2024; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Raptors guard Gary Trent Jr. (33) shoots the ball against the Indiana Pacers in the first half at Scotiabank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports / Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports

Malik Monk may have just set the mark for Gary Trent Jr.'s next contract.

The Sacramento Kings guard has reportedly inked a four-year, $78 million contract extension to remain with the Kings, ESPN's Adrian Wojanrowski reported. It was the maximum allowable extension for Monk to sign with Sacramento ahead of free agency later this month.

For the Toronto Raptors, it sets a precedent that will likely impact Trent's contract as Toronto's sharpshooting guard heads into his own unrestricted free agency this summer.

Monk had a better season than Trent, averaging 15.4 points off the bench for the Kings while finishing second in Sixth Man of the Year voting. He didn't quite shoot threes as well as but the 6-foot-3 guard outperformed Trent in almost every other statistical category.

What's notable is Monk will earn just $17.4 million next season or roughly 12.34% of the salary cap. That would mark a pay cut for Trent who picked up his $18.6 million player option (13.65% of the salary cap) for last season.

The expectation last summer was Trent would opt-out of his player option and ink a contract worth roughly $20 million per season. That never happened and Trent decided to return for the final year of his contract in what turned out to be a smaller role for the Raptors. He played fewer minutes, averaged fewer points, and attempted fewer shots this past season and that step back will likely hurt his value on the open market.

If Toronto is going to pick up Bruce Brown's team option as is expected at some point this month, it still makes sense for the Raptors to re-sign Trent to avoid losing the 25-year-old in free agency for nothing. But the chances of Trent getting a pay increase next season seem to be unlikely.