Toronto Raptors guard Gary Trent Jr. has a $18.8 million player option on his contract for the 2023-24 season, but the 24-year-old may choose to head to free agency.
During the team's exit interviews, Trent says of his contract situation that “it's a business” (h/t Sportsnet's Michael Grange), echoing a sentiment shared within and outside of the NBA fraternity.
Adding context to the comments, Amit Mann of Yahoo Sports notes that Trent was non-committal about his future in Toronto, saying that he would do what's best for him and his family.
Gary Trent Jr. didn’t commit any direction when it comes to whether he will opt-in or re-sign with Raptors.
Going to do what’s best for his family and himself. He loves Toronto.
He wants to be comfortable and in a place where he can fulfill his goals. pic.twitter.com/ONyYH9Afw2
— Amit Mann (@Amit_Mann) April 13, 2023
In fact, Trent says that he loves Toronto.
“I've had a great time here so far, restaurants are great… great city.”
Nonetheless, while his comfort level with his future (or current) franchise will be prioritized, there's no doubt that Trent has a number of personal goals he would like to reach.
Already a more productive player than his father, Trent has averaged 17.1 points and 1.5 steals per game while shooting 37.9 percent from 3.
However, only starting in 130 of 506 career regular season games, there's a reasonable chance that Trent would be interested in a starting role. Unfortunately for the Raptors, that may require him to move out of Toronto unless one of their current starter leaves in free agency or is traded themselves.
On the other hand, though, if Trent is comfortable in his role and the city?
The Raptors may get to keep one of the most dependable two-way impact players in the league. That said, despite the rumors that have circulated all season long, the Raptors seem like they want to want to bring their current core back, and just add to it.
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