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Trent Jr. staying with Raptors: Guard opts into contract for next year

Adam Laskaris
Adam Laskaris
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Jun 20 2023, 5:33 pm
Trent Jr. staying with Raptors: Guard opts into contract for next year
Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports

Gary Trent Jr. is returning to the Toronto Raptors.

With a June 20 deadline as to if he’d pick up or decline his player option with Toronto for next season, a report from Bleacher Report’s Chris Haynes indicated that Trent Jr. has opted for the latter, avoiding unrestricted free agency this summer.

The 24-year-old guard has been a regular in the Raptors’ rotation since coming over in a 2021 trade from the Portland Trail Blazers, but had a disappointing end to the 2022-23 campaign after missing a seven-game stretch in mid-March, playing just 17 minutes and putting up only two points in the Raptors’ play-in loss to the Chicago Bulls this past spring.

“We know it’s a business. I love Toronto. Spent a great time here so far. It’s got good restaurants, [a] good city, a great place to be,” Trent Jr. said in April about possibly returning to the team for the 2023-24 season.

Trent Jr. was spotted working out in Toronto in May at the team’s OVO Athletic Centre practice facility.

Trent Jr. averaged 17.4 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 1.6 assists in 66 games for the Raptors this season, his third with the team.

He played 69 of 70 games as a starter in the 2021-22 season but was delegated to the bench for long portions of the 2022-23 season, particularly after the Raptors acquired Jakob Poeltl.

In total, he came off the bench in 23 of 67 games he appeared in, including the play-in finale.

The Raptors’ biggest two free agents for this summer are now Jakob Poeltl and Fred VanVleet, the latter of which opted out of his contract earlier this month.

Unrestricted free agency officially opens on July 6, though teams can begin negotiating deals as of June 30 at 6 pm ET.

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