It’s not always that an NBA team inks a late-round pick to a three-year deal the same year the said asset was drafted, but that’s exactly what the Portland Trail Blazers this week with Gary Trent Jr.
According to Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports, the Blazers have signed Trent to a guaranteed three-year contract.
Sources: Portland has signed No. 37 overall pick Gary Trent Jr. of Duke to a guaranteed 3-year rookie deal.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 6, 2018
Trent Jr. was selected by the Sacramento Kings 27th overall in last month’s NBA Draft before immediately trading the former Duke Blue Devils shooter to the Blazers. The second-generation NBA player, whose father Gary Trent Sr. played nine seasons in the big league, would inject some more perimeter firepower for Portland.
In his first and only year in Durham, Trent averaged 14.5 points, 4.2 rebounds, 1.4 assists, and 1.2 steals in 37 games. His most NBA-ready quality is his shooting. While he shot 41.5 percent from the field for Duke, Trent was a 40.2 percent sniper from deep, knocking down 2.6 3-pointers on 6.5 attempts per game. He took 56.4 percent of his shots from downtown, benefiting from his teammates often finding him parked behind the arc, as nearly 95 percent of his 3-pointers came off of assists.
Trent, who stands 6-foot-5, has decent size for a shooting guard but lacks polish in other departments outside of his shooting prowess. He has a lot to learn before becoming a regular part of Portland’s rotation while also competing for any leftover minutes at the shooting guard position with Nik Stauskas and fellow rookie Anfernee Simons.
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