With just over 24 hours to go before the NBA draft, the Toronto Raptors received a pleasant surprise, with guard Gary Trent Jr exercising his player option for the 2023/24 season. The move will guarantee Trent’s $18.56 Million salary this year, keeping him off of the free agent market, lining him up for unrestricted free agency in 2024.
The move comes as a surprise as Trent has long been expected to utilize his opt out clause. With new head coach Darko Rajakovic now in the fold, it’s possible he sees Trent as a strong building block for the franchise, and works towards a long term contract in the range of $20 Million a season. The 24 year old was traded to the Raptors in March of 2021, and is coming off of a solid 2 and a half year stint in Toronto. Since the trade, he’s averaged 17.7 ppg while shooting .420/.378/.843, chipping in with 1.6 steals per game. As Trent enters his prime, he could have entered the market as a highly touted 3-and-D free agent, but with a deep pool of guards entering unrestricted free agency, it’s possible his agents evaluated the market and found it wasn’t as robust as anticipated.
There are also rumblings that Trent has a desire to remain in Toronto, and that the two sides intend on exploring a multiyear agreement. Once his option is officially picked up, the former Trail Blazer will be extension eligible in July. Under the NBA’s new extension rules, he’ll be able to receive a raise up to 40% on a new deal, which would work out to roughly $113.6M on a 4 year deal.
Gary Trent Jr. will reportedly opt into his contract next season. HE STAY! pic.twitter.com/Konk6de0vc
— Yahoo Sports Canada (@YahooCASports) June 20, 2023
While Trent’s decision to opt into the final year of his contract will keep a key contributor in Toronto for the upcoming season, the Raptors still have some very crucial roster decisions to make in a short amount of time. Guard Fred Van Vleet has already declined his 2023/24 player option and is expected to receive a contract worth upwards of $30 Million per season, while center Jakob Poeltl will see his contract expire on June 30th. As much as it’s a benefit to retain Trent, there’s no doubt that his $18M cap hit will hamper Toronto’s ability to try and retain both of their players on expiring deals without entering into the luxury tax, something they may want to avoid doing with a team that’s in need of a shakeup before they can be considered serious contenders.
The Raptors finished with a 41-41 record last season before being ousted from the play-in tournament. Their lacklustre performance ultimately led to the franchise parting ways with head coach Nick Nurse in the offseason. With the Eastern Conference as wide open as it’s ever been, Toronto will need to make some important roster decisions in relatively short order before draft night.
-Devon Gallant
Twitter: @DevGallant
Photo: All-Pro Reels. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.