The Milwaukee Bucks expected Gary Trent Jr. to be a central element of their offensive attack. Could he be the No. 3 scoring option on the team? No. 2? Currently, he's sixth.
The early going in 2025-26 is eerily reminiscent of his rough start last year. In both cases, it resulted in his demotion to the bench. This isn't what the Bucks were counting on, and if Trent can't find his footing, it's going to be hard to make up the loss in anticipated production.
Trent's no-show caught many Bucks fans completely off guard
In a superficial sense, Trent hasn't been a total zero. Boosted by starter minutes for the first 12 games, he's still averaging double figures, if barely. He's shooting a perfectly acceptable 37.4 percent on threes. His conversion rate on twos isn't great (45.2), but that's nearly identical to last year. The fact that he has only been an "acceptable" 3-point shooter, rather than lights out like last season, has made the difference in his sub-40 field goal percentage (39.8).
Guilty as charged, maybe Trent enthusiasts just got a little carried away in hoping he could return to his Toronto heights. Compared to his stat line from 2024-25, very little has changed.
For those who believed Trent could do more, however, that's precisely the problem. It's a problem for the Bucks, too, who were relying on him to provide starting-level production. Who knows where this team would be without Ryan Rollins' explosion into the Most Improved Player conversation?
The hype hasn't aged well, but Trent gave fans ample reason to be excited after going off in the postseason, rising to the occasion on the biggest stage when role players often wither. Looking at his track record as a high-volume scorer in Toronto, it was easy to imagine a world where, given a bit more rope, Trent could get back to being the bucket-getter of his prime. With the wide-open state of the Bucks' offense, he even seemed poised for a possible career year.
Advanced metrics reveal just how horribly it's all gone wrong. Net rating, which incorporates an appreciable degree of team performance, gives Trent a mark of -13.2. That would be his career-worst by far.
By on-off rating, a better representation of individual impact, Trent is somehow contributing -30.4 points per 100 possessions. Due in part to unfair defensive assignments as an undersized small forward, it's been ugly on both ends of the floor. The Milwaukee Bucks waited for Trent to turn things around, but that hasn't happened.
Again reminiscent of last season, maybe coming off the bench will get Trent on track. In the past two contests, he finally returned to double figures after a six-game drought. Still, in both games, Trent has posted a team-worst box-score differential (a combined -45). Whatever explains his disastrous start, the Milwaukee Bucks need him to snap out of it.
Especially with Giannis Antetokounmpo sidelined, the team now faces a void of production someone has to fill. Maybe it's time to compromise. If Trent can just do his part - fine. He doesn't have to be one of the team's top scorers. Bucks fans will take him holding his own.