Toronto Raptors: 3 teams that could sign Gary Trent Jr. to an offer sheet

Toronto Raptors free agency will prove once and for all which pieces the front office considers essential to winning next year and which can be tossed in exchange for spare parts. One incredibly interesting case is that of Gary Trent Jr. and his restricted free agency, as his next contract might shape the scope of Toronto’s summer plans.

Trent was the compensation for Norman Powell after Toronto shipped him off to the Portland Trail Blazers, and he responded by upping his scoring numbers to 16.2 per game thanks to his increased responsibility with the Raptors. Trent looks like a solid long-term piece, but he on the open market, technically.

Trent’s restricted free agency means that any team can sign him to an offer sheet, but the Raptors have the ability to match said contract and keep him in Toronto if they so choose. While Trent not being back in Toronto would be an extremely unforeseen event, that won’t deter teams from making a run at him.

The Raptors need to look at one of these 3 teams in the offseason, as they could try to take Trent away from them and turn the young sharpshooter into a part of their young core by giving him a deal that exceeds what Toronto feels comfortable with.

These 3 teams could sign Toronto Raptors stud Gary Trent Jr.

3. Oklahoma City Thunder

The Oklahoma City Thunder will be quick to tell you they are building for the future, as the Paul George and Russell Westbrook trade both netted them frankly an obscene amount of draft capital. They do need to put some stars on this roster soon, however, as they risk wasting Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s rookie contract and prime.

If there is one area that the Thunder could use an injection of immediate scoring pop, it’s the backcourt. While their first-round pick could easily be used on a player to pair with SGA in the backcourt, a combination of Trent, Gilgeous-Alexander, and the first-round pick to be named later with Theo Maledon on the bench is a very juicy lineup.

The Thunder could use a player like Gary Trent Jr.

At a certain point, the Thunder have to turn their picks and cap space into players. You can’t just keep accumulating picks or try to make nine first-round picks all gel on the same roster. A player like Trent fits in perfectly with their timeline, and they could try to compete with Toronto for his services.

The Thunder could be in a position to be one of the few teams well under the cap next season, which often heralds the start of a big signing spree. Trent’s timeline matches up with Oklahoma City’s plan to build, and it could force Toronto to match an eye-watering offer that further impacts this roster.

2. Chicago Bulls

The Chicago Bulls’ grand vision for a trade deadline swap that would push them to the postseason backfired in grand style. While Nikola Vucevic was able to put up numbers, the former Magic star was unable to help Zach LaVine taste the postseason, and Chicago lost their Top 10 pick to Orlando as a result of this deal.

Arturas Karnisovas will likely try to find more role players to line up alongside LaVine and Vucevic rather than completely blowing everything up, meaning that a player like Trent could be had if Chicago comes up with the cap space.

The Toronto Raptors should be worried about the Bulls looking at Gary Trent Jr.

Signing Trent and sticking him at small forward would make for a hellacious triad between him, LaVine, and point guard Coby White. With Lauri Markkanen likely to be employed elsewhere next year, moving No. 4 overall pick Patrick Williams to power forward alongside Vucevic would make Chic ago one of the deepest starting lineup among mid-range Eastern Conference teams.

With the ability to add a stud wing next to LaVine in the draft now officially closed off, Karnisovas likely has no other choice except to spend big or running it back with the same squad. The Bulls could intrigue Trent, and they could see just how much the Raptors want to keep him as part of their future plans.

1. Dallas Mavericks

Now that the notion Kristaps Porzingis is a tertiary scoring option on a contender rather than a No. 2 star has been officially crystallized beyond a shadow of a doubt, the Dallas Mavericks know that they must do anything and everything to get some help around superstar Luka Doncic in order to truly contend in the Western Conference.

The Mavericks could potentially lose one of the few competent role players on this team in free agent Tim Hardaway Jr. Why not swap out one second-generation player for another? If Dallas makes the money work and signs Trent to an offer sheet so expensive that Toronto is turned away, they could allow Hardaway to walk.

Raptors stud Gary Trent Jr. would be ideal for the Mavericks.

The Mavericks are going to play up-tempo basketball, so they need to find role-players that can make open 3-pointers after Doncic kicks it back to the perimeter and play tough defense in order to make up for Luka’s deficiencies in that area. Trent would make a lot of sense from Dallas.

Ultimately, Raptors fans should go into the offseason expecting that Trent will be back next season, as young guards with his shooting stroke and scoring production don’t come down the pipeline every week.

However, his stint with Toronto last year got some teams interested in him, and the Raptors will need to take a hard look at the money he will be in line for before pledging themselves to him for the next few seasons.