Raptors Latest Moves Signal What's Next for Gary Trent Jr.

The Toronto Raptors appear ready to move on from Gary Trent Jr. who will head into unrestricted free agency tomorrow night

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

Gary Trent Jr.'s time in Toronto is likely coming to an end.

Nothing will become official until next week, but the Toronto Raptors have signaled the organization is ready to part ways with the 25-year-old sharpshooter. Between Thursday's trade with the Sacramento Kings and Friday's decision to pick up Bruce Brown's team option for next season, there simply isn't a realistic avenue to bringing Trent back.

With Brown's contract now guaranteed at $23 million for next season, Toronto has $158 million committed to its roster for next season, excluding guaranteed contracts for at least two of Toronto's second round picks Jonathan Mogbo and Jamal Shead. That puts the Raptors over the $141 million salary cap for next season and leaves the organization with about $13.3 million of room below the luxury tax threshold.

Considering Toronto still has to sign Mogbo and Shead and may opt to keep Javon Freeman-Liberty on his partially guaranteed deal for next season, Toronto is unlikely to have enough space to re-sign Trent without dipping into the luxury tax threshold for a team that doesn't appear close to contention.

The Raptors could theoretically try to create salary cap space by moving off some of that committed salary. The organization could, for example, move Brown in a trade that takes back less than $23 million or Toronto could look to flip Chris Boucher and his $10.8 million contract for someone making less money.

That said, Toronto just swung a deal with the Kings to take on $8.4 million and it cost Sacramento two second-round picks including a 2025 second-round pick from Portland that should be very good. It seems unlikely Toronto would have made that trade if the organization needed that money to re-sign Trent this offseason.

"You want to be strategic about what's tradable, what’s not tradable," Raptors general manager Bobby Webster said when asked if the organization wanted to re-sign Trent following Thursday's draft. "We have some big contracts coming up in the future, so it’ll just have to be something that makes sense for everyone."

Toronto acquired Trent in 2021 in a deal for Norman Powell with the hope that the then 22-year-old would be a younger, more cost-efficient version of Powell with a higher upside. Powell was 27 at the time and Toronto was beginning to turn its attention toward the future.

But three and a half years later, Trent's development seems to have plateaued.

He's proven he can be a high-end shooter who doesn't offer much else. His playing time and field goal attempts dipped this past year under new Raptors coach Darko Rajaković and the addition of shooting guard Ja'Kobe Walter in the first round of the draft Wednesday only further suggests Toronto is ready to turn the page from Trent.

Maybe there's some deal out there that keeps Trent in Toronto. A hometown discount or a cost-saving trade could open the door for Trent to return to the Raptors next season but Toronto seems to be content to move on and for Trent maybe that's for the better.