5 very bold predictions ahead of Raptors’ 2022-23 season debut

4. Gary Trent Jr. averages 20 points per game.

Trent, specifically, will be in for a significant spike in production. The team’s struggles with consistency from 3-point range will place a bigger burden on him, though his play last year showed that putting that extra weight on him will not be very problematic.

Trent averaged 18.3 points per game while making 38% of his 3-point attempts and taking just under eight triples per game. Still just 23 years old, the best is yet to come for GTJ. If Tyler Herro can average 21 points per game off the bench, why can’t Trent, who had five straight 30-point games last year, do the same as a starter?

Gary Trent Jr. will be a key for the Toronto Raptors.

In a contract year, Trent has to be looking at the nine-figure deals that Herro and Jordan Poole signed and wondering if he can follow in their footsteps. One way to force Toronto’s hand is to author his most impressive season to date, complete with new career-best marks in several major categories.

Trent might fly under the radar considering the star power of Siakam and VanVleet ahead of him, but his scoring is so electric that he will get his flowers if he continues to produce. Trent has shown he can help lead an offense when called upon, and he could parlay that ability into a huge new deal.