The Milwaukee Bucks signed free agent Gary Trent Jr. this offseason. He played with the Toronto Raptors last season. Trent Jr. started in 41 games last season for Toronto and also played in 71 games overall. He averaged 13.7 PPG, 2.6 RPG, 1.7 APG, 0.1 BPG, and 1.1 SPG in those contests. Gary Trent Jr. shot 42.6% from the field, 39.3% from three-point land, and 77.1% from the free-throw line.
He did not make it to the NBA playoffs last season. This season, he will have a chance to be in the playoffs with the Bucks. Trent Jr. has a chance to be in the starting five this year at the shooting guard position. They did not re-sign Malik Beasley and Patrick Beverley. Along with Trent Jr., they also signed Delon Wright this offseason.
Those were not big moves by any means, but Bucks fans were happy that they signed him. Gary Trent Jr. is only 25 years old.
Bleacher Report Lists Gary Trent Jr. Of the Milwaukee Bucks As An Off-Season Loser
The Bleacher Report staff listed its winners and losers of the 2024 NBA offseason. They believe that Bucks guard Trent Jr. is one of the off-season losers. The Bleacher Report staff said:
“Gary Trent Jr., who couldn’t find common ground on an extension with the Toronto Raptors last year, and who also couldn’t land a new deal from them in free agency, wound up signing a one-year, minimum-salary deal with the Milwaukee Bucks.
Trent is still just 25 years old, has started the majority of the 341 games he’s played since entering the league in 2018-19 and is a career 38.6 percent three-point shooter. Though he isn’t quite a stopper on the wing, Trent brings two-way value with his ball-hawking ways. Only 11 other players match or beat his totals of 835 made triples and 408 steals across the last six seasons, and most of them have multiple All-NBA nods.
Trent’s loss is the Bucks’ gain. They had no business landing someone as accomplished as him for a minimum salary, and they desperately need the shooting and disruption he’ll provide in a prove-it season.
But that’s just it. Trent had already proved plenty by scoring in double figures and canning tons of threes since becoming a regular starter four years ago. Odds are, if the entire league weren’t terrified of spending deeper into the tax, he would have fielded multiple offers worth five or six times the annual salary for which he ultimately settled.”
If Gary Trent Jr. has a big year for the Milwaukee Bucks maybe, he could get a bigger contract from them or another team in the 2025-2026 season. The one thing the Bucks needed was younger players around Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard. Trent Jr. fits the bill and could be another reliable scorer for them.
The Bleacher Staff is correct, it is the Bucks’ big gain but Trent Jr. could have received more money from the Toronto Raptors, but the decision to not sign with the Raptors backfired on him. If he does win an NBA Championship next season with the Milwaukee Bucks, it won’t be so bad after all.
