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Raptors' Gary Trent Jr. 'has always liked being in Toronto'
Gary Trent Jr.'s dad hopped on The FAN Morning Show on Tuesday to talk about his son's decision to opt-in to the final year of his contract with the Raptors.
Former Toronto Raptors forward Gary Trent Sr. made an appearance on The FAN Morning Show on Thursday morning and discussed his son, Gary Trent Jr., opting into his $18.5 million player option for next season.
When asked about why Trent Jr. wanted to remain with the Raptors, specifically for the 2023-2024 campaign, he said it boiled down to two reasons.
“Well, first thing is, he’s always liked being in Toronto,” Trent Sr. said. “You know, he’s never disliked and never had any ill feelings there — so, that’s number one. Number two, you know, new coach, new opportunities. You know, the new system should create him some opportunities to where he can still thrive [and] continue to grow as a player.”
Building on the notion that Trent Jr. will have novel opportunities to grow as a player under the Raptors’ new regime, Trent Sr. talked about how the possibility of a subtle rebuild is beneficial for him, as well.
“Well, that’s what he’s looking forward to,” Trent Sr. said regarding the team potentially being in a rebuild next season. “A lot of his opportunity was taken away with the trade. You know, one day you start and one day you don’t, and some nights you play 35 minutes a night, some nights you’ll play 14 minutes. You just gotta make sure you find some balance in there and be able to stay emotionally and mentally consistent, no matter what’s going on around you.”
Trent Jr., 24, exercised his $18.5 million player option on Tuesday to remain with the Raptors next season. His decision, however, caught many by surprise, as pundits and fans alike expected him to test the market in free agency. According to reports, the former second-round pick was expected to command more than $20 million this summer.
TNT’s Chris Haynes said that Trent Jr. wants to remain in Toronto and that a long-term deal will be discussed.
When asked about what he thought went wrong with the 2022-23 edition of the Raptors, Trent Sr. felt it came down to too much off-court noise seeping into the locker room.
"The team had 9-10 guys on the roster up for trades. You got the whole locker room feeling unstable, you go the locker room feeling like 'we don't know what's next,' 'who do they care about?'" Trent Sr. said. "When you have every player questioning their role, questioning the direction of the team, it leads to the type of season you saw."
