Gary Trent Jr. has been one of the hot names on the rumor mill due to the Raptors guard’s ability to opt out and become a free agent this summer. However, it’s no lock that the Raptors will trade him, according to Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca.
The organization has been impressed with Trent’s professionalism and production after enduring an early-season shooting slump. The Raptors have signaled they are willing to re-sign him and Grange’s sources indicate Trent would like to re-sign with them during the offseason. Trent is likely to decline the $18.56MM option on the final year of his three-year contract.
We have more Eastern Conference news:
- Heat forward Jimmy Butler says he’ll play against Orlando on Friday, Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press tweets. He was a late scratch against Boston on Tuesday due to lower back tightness. Center Omer Yurtseven, who hasn’t played this season after undergoing ankle surgery, did some shooting after practice on Thursday, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald tweets. Yurtseven still has a splint on his ankle and his return is not imminent.
- Magic big man Jonathan Isaac scored 10 points in 10 minutes against Boston and five points in eight minutes against Indiana on Wednesday. He hadn’t played since 2020 due to a serious knee injury and admits that he struggled through a 4 1/2-minute stint in the first half of his first game back. “That kind of first wind got to me. That last minute I could barely talk I was breathing so hard,” Isaac said to ESPN’s Andrew Lopez and other media members. “But the second rotation in the second half, that four minutes, I started to just relax and just feel good.”
- Pacers’ second-round rookie Kendall Brown is back in action with the G League’s Fort Wayne Mad Ants after sitting out six weeks due to a stress reaction in his right tibia. He absorbed a lot on information during his recovery, he told Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files. “It’s been a lot of rehab, sitting on the bench watching my teammates play,” he said. “Being off, I spent a lot of time with the Pacers — in the film room and courtside just watching everything. It was really good to see everyone play and the speed of the game. I think it helped me a lot.”
You’re not going to keep both FVV and GTJr at $55M for both next year, so if you keep Gary, Fred has to go.
That may be the plan, honestly. FVV is a great player, but he’s kind of the odd man out for the Raptors in what they look for in players.
I’d take Gary out playing his contract over the next 4 years vrs Fred.