The curious case of Gary Trent Jr.

The Toronto Raptors and Gary Trent Jr. were reportedly miles apart on a new deal. So what happens now for Trent Jr.?

The NBA Draft ended a couple of weeks ago but Gary Trent Jr. must feel like a prospect waiting in the Green Room.

The 25-year-old now-former Toronto Raptor remains unsigned and, with details leaking of his failed contract negotiations, headed towards a long offseason!

As per TSN’s Josh Lewenberg, the Raptors were willing to bring back Gary at $15 million per year. However, GTJ’s representatives wanted a raise from his $18.5 million salary last season, looking for an offer in the $25 million range. A gap of $10 million in contract negotiations is so large that one side is clearly misreading the market.

From the Raptors’ side, Masai Ujiri has a history of paying above market value to bring back players they love. Toronto’s offer makes sense because Trent Jr.’s value took a hit this season. His numbers were down across the board. After averaging 18.3 points and 17.4 points per game in his previous two full seasons with Toronto, GTJ’s scoring dipped to 13.7 points this season, despite the departures of Fred VanVleet, OG Anunoby, and Pascal Siakam.

Trent Jr.’s Agent, Rich Paul of Klutch Sports Group, is notorious for driving hard bargains, but this was a gross misinterpretation of Gary’s value. GTJ was acquired from Portland in March 2021, and marketed as a younger, cost-effective version of the player he was traded for, Norm Powell. While he had his fair share of standout performances, Gary never quite lived up to the hype. His offensive game never expanded beyond good-sometimes-great shooter, while his defense did not instill fear in the opposing offense.

As for the valuation, $25 million places Gary Trent Jr. in the company of players where he frankly does not belong. DeMar DeRozan signed for slightly less than $25 million per year with Sacramento. Buddy Hield reached an agreement for just over $9 million annually to join the Warriors. Klay Thompson, despite being on the downslope of his career, will earn over $17 million to suit up with Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic in Dallas.

All those players are better scorers/shooters than Trent Jr. — none earning what he was asking from Toronto. Only a borderline Hall-of-Famer (and still one of the best 4th quarter scorers in the league) is sniffing the $25 million annual salary.

So, what happens now?

At this point last year, the Raptors had 3 Free Agents that needed to be addressed: Fred VanVleet, Jakob Poeltl, and Gary Trent Jr.

Poeltl was the no-brainer since the Raptors sacrificed a first-round pick to the San Antonio Spurs. Trent Jr. was next to act, deciding to pick up his player option. VanVleet would later shock the organization and sign with the Houston Rockets.

Hindsight’s 20/20, but had Gary known Fred wasn’t sticking around, it’s fair to wonder if he would have foregone his player option and tried to sign a new deal with the Raptors (suddenly with more cap space).

It’s hard not to feel bad for Gary. He never requested a trade from the Raptors, despite all the roster turnover last season, or spoke openly about wanting to play elsewhere after his contract expired. Gary’s always been appreciative of his teammates, the fans, and every action performed by the front office. If the two sides were closer to a deal, it’s not a stretch to assume an agreement would have been reached and all would be happy.

A GTJ deal was not to be made in Toronto, just as other deals were not happening throughout the league. Transaction news was slow when the free agency moratorium was lifted, thanks in large part to the tampering fines being handed out over the last three seasons. Paul George’s trade to the Philadelphia 76ers was supposed to open the floodgates for more player movement. However, the number of Woj/Shams Bombs has been noticeably light this offseason.

Slowly, but surely, teams started reaching agreements and filling out their rosters. With the dust settled, several significant names are still team-less. Kyle Lowry, Gordon Hayward, Davis Bertans, Evan Fournier, Markelle Fultz, and Trent Jr. are the only available free agents with a previous AAV of $15 million or more. Gary is the youngest player of the group and, dare I say, the most valuable!

Unfortunately for Trent Jr., only two teams have cap space.

Outside of the Pistons and Jazz, Gary’s next deal is likely coming in under $10 million annually! It’s a tough pill to swallow for a player who has been top-3 in turnover percentage in each of his last 4 seasons, top-7 in steals per game in his 2 seasons prior to last year, and finished 9th in three-point percentage during the Bubble season. And he’s still 25 years old — less than 6 months older than incoming rookie, Branden Carlson!

His contract expired when every GM was feeling the impact of the first & second tax aprons, and every Head Coach was looking for a more robust skill set from each player. Gary Trent Jr.’s time with the Toronto Raptors may be coming to a close, but here’s hoping he lands in a better situation. He’s way too stylish to still be sitting in the Green Room!