The Toronto Raptors’ search for bench help after agreeing to trade for Kawhi Leonard has brought a familiar name back into the conversation: Gary Trent Jr.
Before the Milwaukee Bucks handed Trent a four-year, $64 million deal, there was already some nostalgia around the idea of a Raptors reunion. That feeling only grew once the contract came into focus. The number is so steep that some fans have joked about salary cap circumvention, and it has made Trent look like a player who could be difficult for other teams to move.
Toronto, though, may be one of the few places still willing to take a look. The Raptors want to get off Jakob Poeltl’s equally atrocious contract, and Trent’s shooting would fit a bench that too often went through long stretches without reliable perimeter threats.
There’s also the reality that Trent is not likely to stay in Milwaukee for the full life of that deal. The contract is so large that it could end up functioning as trade ballast, helping the Bucks include him in a larger package to make the money work.
That possibility matters because Milwaukee’s rebuild has put Poeltl on the radar as well. The two sides could, in theory, exchange bad contracts and solve a fit issue at the same time.
If that kind of deal came together, Trent would return to Toronto as a player who could offer the same mix of perimeter scoring and active defense he showed during his time under Nick Nurse, but with more veteran polish than he had the first time around.
Even if the Raptors seem mostly finished with their offseason work, a player like Trent becoming available on a Bucks team that has fully shifted into rebuild mode could still be enough to get Bobby Webster interested in making a second move for him.
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