The writing was on the wall early in the Milwaukee Bucks' defeat to the Oklahoma City Thunder. Despite injuries, Gary Trent Jr. has gone from a 30-piece playoff riser to struggling to see the court, and there are no signs of recovery.
Gary Trent Jr.'s early struggles have cost him and the Bucks
Back in July, Trent re-signed with the Bucks on a two-year, $7.5 million deal in what felt like a steal to many after his impressive 2024-25 season. Now, he is behind Gary Harris in the depth chart, and even Andre Jackson Jr. featured more against the Thunder.
Myles Turner and Kevin Porter Jr. both missed Wednesday's game, and Doc Rivers had to make adjustments, with Kyle Kuzma starting in the frontcourt alongside Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Harris being chosen to start at small forward. Pete Nance has suddenly found his way into the rotation and played well, being the only player with a positive +/- against the Thunder.
Cole Anthony played 24 minutes on Wednesday (granted with Porter out, he was the only available natural point guard on the bench), but that is just his third appearance in the last 12 games, a damning indictment of where the confidence is at in Trent.
It has been a tough season for Trent, averaging 8.3 points and hitting just 35.6 percent from 3-point range, both of which are the worst in his career since his rookie season. He also has a 121.6 defensive rating; only Mark Sears and Amir Coffey are worse. Not making his shots and struggling defensively, it is no surprise that Rivers has dropped him from the rotation.
He is not alone in struggling this season, with several players jumping in and out of the rotation. Center Jericho Sims had a spell of starting games, and now he has been overtaken by Nance. It is clear that Milwaukee is willing to make moves, and a potential bench scorer could be brought in with Trent not performing as expected.
His 37 and 33-point performances against the Indiana Pacers in the playoffs feel like a lifetime ago. Milwaukee is in a mess right now, and the pressure is on for them to pull the trigger on a trade of some sort. The team is sinking, and even with Giannis' return, plenty of players aren't doing their jobs, and that could lead to them being shipped off by the front office.
Trent, now being out of the rotation, really puts himself in line to possibly be moved on. The Bucks can try to sell him to teams on the fact that he has shown a great ability to score at all levels before and just needs a new start. It has been a poor season from him, one that no one saw coming, and right now, Gary Trent Jr. is out of the rotation, and it looks tough for him to get back in.