Details of Raptors Negotiations with Gary Trent Jr. Revealed

The Toronto Raptors reportedly offered Gary Trent Jr. $15 million but the 25-year-old shooting guard wanted more in free agency

Apr 9, 2024; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Raptors guard Gary Trent Jr. (33) dribbles the ball past Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton (0) in the first half at Scotiabank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports / Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports

The Toronto Raptors trade with Sacramento was essentially the end of Gary Trent Jr.'s time in Toronto.

By the sounds of it, Toronto may have been content to re-sign Trent had he taken an extension with an annual value less than the $18.6 million he earned last season. Sportsnet's Michael Grange reported the Raptors were open to signing Trent for roughly $15 million per season but Trent had hoped to earn an increase on his salary from last year.

Toronto eventually opted to go in another direction with its salary flexibility, sending Jalen McDaniels and $8 million in salary relief to the Sacramento Kings to Davion Mitchell, Sasha Vezenkov, and two second-round picks.

"A lot of the flexibility was eaten up in the Sacramento deal and that wasn't anything other than we got draft picks and we got young players," Raptors general manager Bobby Webster told TSN when the topic of Trent's future with the Raptors was brought up.

At this point, Toronto doesn't have the salary space to re-sign Trent without going into the luxury tax. By signing Immanuel Quickley to an extension worth $35 million per year, Toronto has boxed itself in with just $2.2 million in space below the luxury tax threshold for next season. There could have been an avenue to more space had Toronto elected to start Quickley's contract at a smaller number for next season with $2.4 million increases in each season, but that would have restricted the organization's flexibility in down the road.

Had Toronto wanted to, the organization could have parted ways with Bruce Brown and his $23 million team option for next season. That certainly would have allowed the Raptors to ink Trent to a multi-year deal, but the organization elected to keep Brown as a potential trade asset for this summer.

Webster didn't publicly rule out the possibility of re-signing Trent this summer. He said the organization remains in contact with the 25-year-old and has a good relationship with Trent and his representatives. Webster said the organization will probably talk to Trent at Summer League later this month, but without making a salary-saving maneuver there isn't a viable path to keeping Trent moving forward.