With the NBA investigating the Milwaukee Bucks for potential cap circumvention regarding Gary Trent Jr.'s contract extension, questions were bound to arise at media day. Obviously, General Manager Jon Horst couldn't fully dive into the specifics, but he made it clear that the team thinks the deal Trent got was fair and that he can be a valuable piece to this franchise in its new era of basketball.
"When you look at Gary Trent and what he's done for us in the last two seasons, and even before us in his young career, he's an elite shooter, I think one of five or six players to shoot and make the amount of threes he has as a reserve over the last couple years.
Only 27 years old. Was big for us in playoff moments, so there's a big belief in Gary for what we think matters, and that's elite shooting in the NBA that's hard to find. It's something that Taylor [Jenkins] values, and I think he's even going to maximize more with us, so it was a great opportunity for us to do that, and we acted on it."
Horst has a strong point about Trent
It feels like one bad season tarnished Trent's outside perception. There's a reason that many called him the biggest bargain signing of the summer when he first joined the Bucks. Prior to this past year, Trent's career averages were 13.7 points, 1.4 assists, and 1.2 steals per matchup while hitting 39.1 percent of his 3-pointers. Those are pretty good numbers.
As Horst touched on, Trent's performance in his lone playoff trip with the Milwaukee Bucks cannot be forgotten. In five games in the first round against the Indiana Pacers, Trent stepped up mightily for the Bucks by averaging 18.8 points and 2.6 steals per game while hitting a blistering 50 percent of his 3-pointers. Despite one bad season, Trent is more than capable of getting back to that level.
At 27, Trent is young and in the middle of his prime. It would be foolish to think he's incapable of having a bounce-back year at his age, given the productivity he's shown throughout his career.
Coach Jenkins has big plans for Trent
Horst mentioned that Taylor Jenkins will have a place for Trent in his rotation. That should be a breath of fresh air compared to last season, when it felt like Doc Rivers never knew what to do with Trent until the team had no one else to turn to. Yanking a perimeter shooter in and out of the rotation is the last thing they need to really find their footing, and Trent's production last season was clear proof.
For the Milwaukee Bucks to silence all of this chatter surrounding Trent and his contract, it all starts with Trent bouncing back from last year's woes. While Giannis Antetokounmpo won't be there to give him unlimited wide-open looks, Trent is surrounded by enough talent on the court and the sidelines to make his life far easier than it was last season.
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