Predicting when every member of Raptors' starting 5 might leave

Shooting Guard: Gary Trent Jr.

Gary Trent Jr. exercised his player option to remain with the Toronto Raptors this past season, hoping to have a strong year and increase his value on the open market. That could have meant signing a lucrative new deal with another team, or increasing his contract leverage with the Raptors, who hold his full Bird Rights.

Neither option matters much because he had his worst season since 2020-21, playing a small role when the Raptors had their core together and then failing to make a difference when injuries struck and he was handed a larger role. His scoring decreased and his defensive impact dried up.

Even so, Trent is just 25 years old and profiles as a 3-and-D option on the wing, so teams will be interested this summer as he hits the market as an unrestricted free agent. Toronto will think about re-signing him, but they also have RJ Barrett as a nominal shooting guard, Gradey Dick and Ochai Agbaji as young up-and-coming 2s, and the possibility that Bruce Brown returns or that they draft a 2 with the 19th pick. That's a lot of mouths to feed without bringing back a player in Trent who doesn't move the needle on their long-term plans.

If the Raptors get a trade in place for Brown, or decide to decline his team option and let him walk, they could consider bringing Trent back on a shorter-term deal, or even a team-friendly longer deal that they look to trade down the line. The most likely outcome, however, is that he signs with a different team this summer.

Prediction: This summer