While the Toronto Raptors opted to keep Kyle Lowry at the NBA trade deadline, they did decide to make one pretty major deal when they turned Norman Powell into Gary Trent Jr. Powell had a productive career with the team, but Trent gave them a young player they could get a look at before he hit restricted free agency this summer.
Trent didn’t just make the most of the opportunity, he straight up turned himself into an invaluable member of their long-term plans. As a result, Trent and the Raptors came to terms on a new contract, one that will reportedly pay him $54 million over three seasons.
Gary Trent Jr., has agreed to a three-year, $54M deal to return to the Toronto Raptors, his agent and @KlutchSports CEO Rich Paul tells ESPN. Deal includes a player option on third year.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) August 2, 2021
A high-volume shooter during his time with the Portland Trail Blazers, Trent got to show off a bit more of his offensive repertoire once he joined the Raptors. The results couldn’t have been more encouraging, as Trent became a member of Toronto’s starting lineup and averaged 16.2 points in 31.8 minutes per game while hitting 35.5 percent of his 7.3 attempts a night from three. Included in this was a career-high 44 point outing, which was tied for the second-highest scoring output in a single game for a Raptors player last season.
Trent also extracts a significant concession in nabbing the player option. Given his current age of 22, Trent has the potential to hit the free agent market again at just 24 years old and, if he performs well in Toronto, that could set up another lucrative payday. In contrast, he has another $18 million secured if he’d like to pick up that player option, and this is a good bit of business for both sides.
