The Milwaukee Bucks and Gary Trent Jr. made things official Saturday night after the guard inked his one-year deal with the franchise.
He heads to Milwaukee after stints with the Portland Trail Blazers and Toronto Raptors. Trent reunites with Damian Lillard, Milwaukee's starting point guard, several years removed from their time together with the Blazers. One would have to think that Lillard had a rather large hand in this move, doing what he needed to convince his former teammate to join forces with him once again.
Trent is by far the splashiest addition the Bucks have made this off-season, at least thus far. That's no knock on their other signings, as they are also all strong moves, but this one stands alone for several reasons. That said, let's explain why based on several factors before handing this deal a letter grade.
The financial aspect of Gary Trent Jr.'s deal with the Bucks
According to Spotrac, the estimated financial figure for Trent's one-year deal is $2,087,519. That's a steal of a contract for the Milwaukee Bucks, who just landed a 25-year-old surefire starting two guard for the bare minimum. There was talk of him getting an annual salary of upwards of $10 million in free agency this off-season, so just a tick over $2 million is unquestionably an eye-catching end result.
It quite literally does not get any better than this for the Bucks in terms of bang for your buck.
When looking at all of Milwaukee's free agency signings, general manager Jon Horst and the rest of this front office need their flowers for adding impact pieces with such little financial flexibility. Trent, Delon Wright and Taurean Prince all signed minimum deals and are expected to play key roles for the Bucks next season. Getting them so cheap is huge for a team with limited financial flexibility.
Gary Trent Jr.'s fit and role with the Bucks
As alluded to earlier, Trent almost certainly has already been penciled in as Milwaukee's fifth starter next season. That was likely a part of the recruiting pitch to get him to join the Bucks in the first place, but he's also the best option the team has on this roster in terms of his fit with the other four names in the starting unit.
In that lineup, Trent's role will primarily revolve around knocking down open 3-pointers while playing competent defense and racking up steals. Considering that Trent is one of four players to record at least 500 made 3-pointers and 300 steals over the last three seasons, per ESPN's Matt Williams, there's evidence that he can come in and do both of those things quite well.
It will be interesting to see how well he shoots the long ball, as he should get countless open looks on a nightly basis next to Giannis Antetokounmpo and Lillard. Last season, he buried 51.3 percent of his "wide-open" triples, per NBA.com. Imagine what he might be able to do with the opposing defenses focusing on Antetokounmpo and Lillard; it's a 3-point shooter's dream.
Defensively, no one should expect Trent to solve all of Milwaukee's issues. He's not an elite perimeter defender by any stretch, but he's got the size and length serviceable on that end. Above all else, he's just active, constantly involved in what's going on. It's that activity that helps him earn so many steals, creating opportunities on the other side of the basketball court.
Expect Gary Trent Jr. to play a big role with the Milwaukee Bucks next season.
Gary Trent Jr.'s long-term outlook with the Bucks
With Trent just having signed, few people are thinking about his future beyond this season; many are still in shock that he's in Milwaukee in the first place. However, looking ahead, it's a tricky situation to maneuver for the Milwaukee Bucks, given their financial limitations moving forward and the brutal second-apron reality they find themselves in.
This is the definition of a prove-it deal. Trent clearly couldn't find the big payday he was searching for this off-season, so he decided to ink a short-term, team-friendly deal on a contender to boost up his value ahead of free agency next year. If he capitalizes on the opportunity, he could have an array of suitors looking to hand him that big payday he so desires.
If Trent dazzles in Milwaukee, the Bucks should absolutely aim to keep him. At 25, he's still young and hasn't even entered his prime yet. If they find a way to free up the financial resources, Trent could be the shooting guard of the future for this franchise. Keeping him long-term would help extend the title window by giving the Milwaukee Bucks a young, impact player who still has plenty of good years left.
The conversation truly cannot begin until everyone sees how Trent performs on the basketball court, so he'll have plenty of eyes locked on him throughout the upcoming campaign.
The grade on this deal
It's not an overreaction to think that this has the potential to go down as one of the best free-agent signings in the entire history of the Milwaukee Bucks.
For the veteran's minimum, the Bucks just landed a 25-year-old sharpshooter who will claim the final starting spot. He fits in perfectly with this group, and he could help take this offense up a notch due to his prolific marksmanship. Sure, there are questions about the defensive backcourt with Trent and Lillard, but they aren't liabilities on that end and will be surrounded by other strong defenders.
In addition to just simply adding Trent, this signing also improves Milwaukee's second unit, as it now has Prince, Wright and AJ Green, three players who would have been in competition for that starting spot if Trent hadn't signed. They now get to operate off of the bench and provide the team with depth and firepower at several positions of need.
This is the clear definition of a homerun signing. It's unclear if the Milwaukee Bucks are done making moves to the roster, but if Trent is the pièce de résistance, this has been an impressive off-season in terms of tweaking the roster for this team. Without even having played a game, they already fit better than last year's group, and Trent's presence plays a part in that.
BTBP Grade: A+
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