Toronto Raptors: 3 nightmare scenarios that could ruin free agency
By Mike Luciano
2. Gary Trent Jr. is not retained
The Raptors were able to flip Norman Powell to the Portland Trail Blazers with the aim of getting Trent in return. A younger, cheaper version of Powell with plenty of great basketball left, Trent looks like either an ideal sixth man or starting shooting guard for a Toronto team that needed to replace Powell’s scoring.
However, Trent is on the market as a restricted free agent, meaning that he can sign offer sheets with other teams and leave it up to the Raptors to decide if they want to match that offer and bring him back. While Toronto very clearly wants to bring Trent back, his skillset will be very attractive to many teams.
What kind of offer will Gary Trent Jr. get in free agency?
Teams like the Mavericks or rival Knicks need to surround their stars with shooting, and they could easily decide to renounce the rights to some of their own free agents to make a run at a quality shooter and scorer like Trent.
Considering his age and production, Trent likely will end up with a contract between $15 million and $17 million per year. Even an offer sheet exceeds that, Toronto should match.
The Raptors could spin letting Trent go as a money-saving move to avoid being tied down financially, but unless the offer is so astronomical it borders on the ridiculous, they need to find a way to retain him. His offensive ceiling is just too high.