Raptors willing to re-sign Gary Trent Jr. as he is now reported “happy” to stay in Toronto

As the Raptors are about to endure a historic seven-game road trip and transfer speculation is flying around the Toronto camp, the team is now reported to be seriously thinking things through and want to maintain Gary Trent Jr. in their roster beyond February 9th, or maybe even beyond this next summer window. 

We are only a couple of weeks away from the transfer deadline, and one of the most constant doubts for Toronto has been to solve the enigma of Trent Jr’s future. At Basketball Insiders, we’ve been following around the saga ever since the trade door opened, and we know that the next weeks are make it or break it to decide where the player’s career will be headed in the NBA.

Thing is, it seems like now the romance is back between team and player. It was reported yesterday by Toronto journalist Michael Grange that the franchise is now not only interested in keeping him for the next half of the season, but even thinking of re-signing him by the time we hit summer and he finishes his contract. As for Trent Jr., he said “of course” he would like to stay.

The Raptors have signalled they're willing to re-sign Gary Trent Jr. and he would be happy to re-sign this summer, @michaelgrange reports, but at what cost?

Regardless of how it unfolds, it's hardly a distraction for the young sharpshooter. https://t.co/pfk17by0WR

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) January 25, 2023

One of the reasons why it was thought the shooting guard would be made available for trade talks is because the Raptors don’t seem to have the possibilities to offer him the lucrative deal he is looking for. Considering price ranges across the modern NBA, the new contract would definitely have to be over $100 million.

But the thing is – can Toronto find another player as good or better than Trent Jr.? To actually acquire an expert three-point shooter as elite and young as Gary is hard to believe, especially considering that players with his premium qualities are armored with very expensive and thorough legal contracts, just like sharpshooters Jordan Poole, Anfernee Simons or even Tyler Herro, to shout out some names.

Let’s remind ourselves of how good this 24-year-old really is. After averaging 33 minutes in 42 regular season matches this year, Trent Jr. has scored 18.6 points, ranking as the tournaments 98th most efficient shooter with a 44.4 field goal percentage. He also has 2.5 rebounds and 1.5 assists in average per game. Although these aren’t his career highs, they still are worthy assets considering the Raptors are not a top-tier-team this campaign.

One of his best games so far this season was just a couple of days ago on January 22nd, as he scored 24 points in Toronto’s victory over the Knicks (125-116).

Toronto ready to endure a historic roadtrip

The Raptors, who are ranked by some of our recommended sport betting sites at (+7500) to win the Finals this season, kicked off a 13-day journey on the road that began last night in Sacramento. Their victory against the Kings was the first out of seven games to come beyond Toronto.

It’s the first time since 2007 that the Canadian team have a seven-game trip, and just the fourth time in NBA history, as the Raptors’s journey will include stops in San Francisco, Portland, Phoenix, Utah, Houston, and Memphis.

Toronto has won their last two games and are ranking 12th (22-27) in the Eastern Conference. Tomorrow they arrive in the Bay Area to face-off against the Golden State Warriors at 9:00pm CST.