Pros and Cons of Raptors making Gary Trent Jr. available in trades
By Mike Luciano
Cons
Trent is just a year removed from topping 18 points per game and serving as the one reliable shooter on a Raptors team that didn’t have a bench player to fill his role. He’s a streaky player, so excommunicating him due to one cold streak could be a very rash decision from Nick Nurse.
The Raptors shouldn’t be so quick to forget that Trent recorded five straight 30-point games while ranking near the top of the league in deflections. Toronto parted with a proven standout in Powell to acquire him, so the idea of this front office completely falling out of love with him after one-quarter of one season would be rash.
The Raptors would likely get a new starting shooting guard in exchange for Trent, along with some potential draft compensation, but that would mean completely retooling and trying to integrate that player into the system on the fly during what is supposed to be a year where Toronto contends for a playoff spot.
The Raptors need to be very careful in dealing with Trent, as he can still be an elite shooter if he gets in a groove. This team is struggling to make 3-pointers with him in the lineup, so imagine trying to outscore some of the elite offenses in the conference without him.