Raptors stud Gary Trent Jr. is outperforming his free agent class

When some Toronto Raptors fans saw the Gary Trent Jr. contract after Masai Ujiri decided to lock up the talented young guard, a small segment of the fanbase was in disbelief. How could someone who had just one season of above-average production get a three-year contract worth just under $52 million?

That contract is not that far off from what some of the best available wings and guards received in the offseason. Evan Fournier and Tim Hardaway Jr. both earned four-year contracts worth over $72 million, and Duncan Robinson was given a contract just shy of $90 million over five years. Even Josh Hart got nearly $13 million per season.

Despite some initial skepticism over his contract, Trent’s play on the court this season has been downright sensational. Trent is averaging 16.0 points and 3.2 rebounds per game, all while improving his overall efficiency when compared to last season.

Trent was one of the worst defenders at any position in the game last year, making his transformation into someone that has a legitimate shot at leading the league in steals is downright incredible. Based on how he has been playing, and how some of his contemporaries are performing, the contract is looking like a bargain.

Gary Trent Jr. is giving the Toronto Raptors a ton of value.

Fournier is not playing poorly for the Knicks, as he is filling his role as a tertiary shooter, but he is posting his lowest points per game average since the 2015-16 season and his lowest field goal percentage since 2018. By no means a great defensive player, Fournier could stand to improve this season.

Likewise, Hardaway is putting up numbers that look more like what he was doing early in his career with Atlanta as opposed to anything he provided with the Knicks or Mavericks. While the production on offense is pretty much even, Dallas gave Hardaway one more year and over $21 million more than the Raptors gave Trent.

Hart might be having a solid offensive season, but those numbers can be chalked up to the fact he’s getting a ton of shots off on a bad team. His advanced defensive metrics show that the Pelicans are much worse defensively when he is on the floor.

Robinson might be suffering from a lack of consistent shot opportunities due to all the talent around him, but his shooting percentages have fallen off of a cliff. When you got that $90 million deal on the back of your shooting ability, that’s not good.

If Trent starts to slightly improve his 3-point percentage and gets back to last year’s levels in that area, he could be the perfect sharpshooter for a playoff-bound team.