Bucks' Gary Trent Jr. closes Raptors chapter of his career with emphatic quote

After spending the past three-and-a-half seasons with the Toronto Raptors, Gary Trent Jr. signed a one-year deal with the Milwaukee Bucks earlier this offseason.

During his appearance at Bucks Media Day, Trent talked about the decision to leave Toronto and sign with Milwaukee, constantly emphasizing his desire to win and play meaningful basketball.

"The opportunity that presents itself to have a chance at winning, to play meaningful basketball in the springtime. Couldn't turn it down... I'm ecstatic, and I'm happy. I'm happy that I get this opportunity again to be a part of some meaningful basketball. Obviously, I'll go out there and contribute towards winning... My main focus is to come here and win a championship."

One door closes, another opens for the Bucks guard

In his quote, the word meaningful popped up on multiple occasions. Adding fuel to the fire in that regard was Raptors big man Jakob Poeltl, who stunned at Media Day by basically saying Toronto is not good enough to win it all this year, so it doesn't make sense for them to try to win every game. Here is what he said:

“I think we all know we’re not going to go and attack the championship this year. It makes no sense for us to try to win every single game as much as we can and sacrifice development.”

As highlighted by his quote, Trent is not in the mindset to rebuild. While he's still fairly young himself at 25 years old, he clearly wants to win basketball games now rather than later. It's among the reasons he took less money from other potential suitors to sign with the Milwaukee Bucks on a minimum deal. He now joins a team with goals of hoisting the Larry O'Brien Trophy once again.

During his time in Toronto, Trent only went to the playoffs once. In the 2021-22 NBA season, Toronto took on the Philadelphia 76ers in the first round but lost in six games. During his three other seasons, the Raptors failed to qualify for the postseason. He also made the playoffs once during his time with the Portland Trail Blazers, but it was once again a first-round exit.

In addition to simply playing for a contender, Trent should also see a bigger role in Milwaukee than he did in Toronto. Over the last two seasons, he spent time as a reserve and a starter, but in Milwaukee, it feels like he's destined to be the team's starting shooting guard. So not only will be be competing for a title, but he'll be playing a prominent part in Milwaukee's success every single night.

It's wonderful to hear a newcomer talk with such fire and detail their excitement about coming to join the team. As he braces for a new chapter after spending the past few years elsewhere, Trent knows what's at stake in Milwaukee. The guard currently has 11 playoff games under his belt in six seasons, and he clearly wants to beef that number up mightily in Milwaukee.

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