2. Gary Trent Jr.
Emotions were running high on March 25, when long-time Raptor and NBA Champion Norman Powell, got traded to the Portland Trail Blazers for Trent and Rodney Hood. It felt like Toronto lost another ‘homegrown’ talent.
Powell had finally found a consistent stride and was averaging a career-high 19.6 points on 50/44/86 shooting splits. But if history has taught us anything, sometimes you’ve got to have faith and repeat In Masai We Trust.
In just 17 games, Trent decided he was going to crush his audition for his off-season role (and upcoming payday). Here are just a few of the highlights:
- In just his fourth game with the Raptors, Trent hit a career-high of 31 points, draining 6-11 threes in the game vs. Oklahoma City.
- In his 5th game, he efficiently torched his way through the Golden State Warriors, finishing with an otherworldly +54. That mark was the best in Raptors franchise history and good for the second-highest plus-minus in NBA history since the league started tracking the stat in 1996.
- In his sixth game- he showed us his best Dame Time impression and put away the Washington Wizards with the buzzer-beater from downtown. He is also the youngest player in Raptors history to hit a buzzer-beating game-winning shot.
- 3 games later, Trent once again smashed his career-high with 44 points against Cleveland, shooting a Klay Thompson-esque 17-19 from the field and 7-9 from downtown.
This string of performances also prompted TSN’s Josh Lewenberg to post what is one of the best Raptor-related tweets of the season:
In 2 weeks as a Raptor, Gary Trent Jr. has put up the 2 highest point totals of his career, set a team record for +/-, hit a game-winner, shown up wearing OVO/Jays gear & defended OG in a skirmish. At this rate, he'll have a statue in Toronto before he gets a chance to play there
— Josh Lewenberg (@JLew1050) April 11, 2021
In 17 games with the Raptors, Trent averaged 16.2 points, 1.1 steals, and 3.6 rebounds per game while making 2.6 3s per contest and nailing 80% of his free throws. Trent didn’t just exceed expectations, he obliterated them, all while making a legitimate case for a starter’s role in this league.
The Raptors will have to pay a pretty penny to ensure Trent stays on the roster moving forward. Trent is coming off his expiring rookie deal as a restricted free agent- where the Raptors will be given the opportunity to match any offer that comes his way (which should still be slightly lower than Powell’s current value).
Toronto has a player with All-Star potential in Trent. Now it’s up to the organization to find a way to get Trent to buy into the Raptors’ future and get back on track to their winning ways.