Last updated: 9/30/2019
Last updated: 9/30/2019
Last updated: 9/30/2019

2025 Free Agents - Gary Trent Jr.
Trent really broke out in his second season during '19-'20, establishing himself as a legitimate NBA wing. Trent's eFG% was a great 58.5% that season, led mostly by his 43% shooting from 3, but he was also above average from every other part of the court as well, according to Cleaning the Glass. Trent's outside shooting dipped a bit during his time in Toronto, as he hit just under 38% of his threes. Some of that was due to Trent taking more difficult, unassisted shots with the Raptors not having the same level of spacing, but it's also likely that he was unusually hot in his early seasons, and it's unlikely for anyone to continue that level of shooting as their usage increases. After generally continuing to increase his scoring each season, Trent averaged under 14 points per game in '23-'24 after topping out at over 18 in '21-'22. That led him to having to settle for a minimum contract with the Bucks in 2024, where he didn't an awesome season despite hitting 42% from three. Trent is a little more than just a "3-and-D" wing, as he has some off-the-dribble ability, and he has fared decently as a pick-and-roll ball-handler at times. He has the ability to hit shots off-the-dribble, but his 46% 2-point percentage is below average. Trent takes some difficult shots, and some of that is bad shot selection. Trent isn't really a creator for others, as he has never averaged more than two assists per game, and has consistently put up extremely low assist to usage ratios, which shows how often a player got an assist given how much he had the ball. He at least doesn't turn the ball over. If Trent were a little bit bigger you'd feel better about him defensively, but he still has the size and quickness to defend multiple positions. He's a little small to defend the bigger, stronger, elite NBA wings, but the Raptors have generally had plenty of better options to do that and even in another situation I would not expect Trent to be tasked with that role. He gets a good amount of steals, and his 2.2% steal rate in '21-'22 was in the 91st percentile for his position, according to Cleaning the Glass. That rate continued in '22-'23 but dipped a little bit to only slightly above average the past two seasons. I was very surprised that Trent ended up settling for a minimum contract in 2024. It's possible he turned down slightly bigger offers in order to potentially start for a contender in Milwaukee, but it's unlikely he had any real big offers. While he had a decent year, I would be surprised if he did anything to really change the minds of decision-makers around the league, so he may not have any big offers once again.
Summary
Trent will be an unrestricted free agent with a $2.3 million cap hold and Non-Bird Rights. This means that the highest starting salary the Bucks could offer him using the Non-Bird Exception is $3.7 million. This may be enough to retain Trent, since he settled for the minimum to come to Milwaukee. Alternatively, the Bucks could use their Mid-Level Exception or Bi-Annual Exception (if available) to re-sign Trent if he demands more than $3.7 million. Other teams will have multiple ways to sign Trent as even teams without cap space could possibly use the Non-Taxpayer MLE, Room MLE, or possibly even the Taxpayer MLE or Bi-Annual Exception to sign him. It's also possible that Trent only gets minimum offers again.
Cap Considerations
Kelly Oubre (1+1 years, $16 million, 2024) Malik Beasley (1 year, $6 million, 2024) Bogdan Bogdanovic (4-1 years, $68 million, 2022)