Gary Trent Jr. Re-Signs with Raptors on 3-Year, $54M Contract in Free Agency

Per Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, Trent Jr. signed a 3-Year, $54 million contract. 

Toronto could have given Trent a qualifying offer valued at $4.74 million that would have made him a restricted free agent and eligible to match any potential offer sheet an opposing team gave him. 

The Raptors do have some key questions to figure out with their roster this offseason coming off a disappointing 27-45 record. Kyle Lowry has signed with the Miami Heat, and Pascal Siakam is expected to miss the start of next season after undergoing shoulder surgery in June. 

Trent is no longer one of those questions, solidifying his future in Toronto after being acquired from the Portland Trail Blazers in March as part of the Norman Powell trade. He had a breakout season in 2020-21, putting himself in line to receive a lucrative multiyear contract as soon as this summer. 

The Duke alum was originally a second-round pick by the Blazers in the 2018 NBA draft. He played sparingly as a rookie before taking on a prominent role off the bench in his second season. His 41.8 three-point percentage in 2019-20 was tied with Kyle Korver for ninth in the league. 

Based on that performance, Trent took on an even bigger role in 2020-21. He started 23 games for the Blazers from Jan. 25-March 15 when CJ McCollum was out with a fractured foot. 

After McCollum returned to the starting lineup, Portland used Trent as a trade chip to acquire Powell in an attempt to upgrade its defense for a playoff run. 

The Ohio native started 15 of the 17 games he played for the Raptors down the stretch. He averaged 16.2 points per contest. He shot 38.5 percent from three on 7.4 attempts per game for the entire season. 

As a young player whose game is ascending, Trent has the potential to be one of the best players for the next era of Raptors success.