Gary Trent Jr. Can Help ‘Bolster’ the Bucks’ ‘Defensive Identity’

Having sought a free agency deal worth more than his $18 million annual salary from last season,

Gary Trent Jr.

learned the hard way that the

NBA

market isn’t always kind.

With the gamble having not paid off, he was left short of options, though he would wind up signing a deal with the

Milwaukee Bucks

, in a move that league insider Mark Medina dubs a potential ‘steal’ for the Eastern Conference challengers.

Bucks Looking To Bounce Back

115.0 defensive rating, 19th in the NBA

Having suffered the immense disappointment of once again exiting the playoffs in the first-round, despite being a top-three seed, the Bucks were projected to be one of the most active teams in the 2024 off-season trade market.

The partnership of All-Stars

Giannis Antetokounmpo

and

Damian Lillard

, and to some degree,

Khris Middleton

, showed glimpses of putting the team in strong playoff contention, but periods of inconsistency and injury woes, as well as a gaping hole defensively after

Jrue Holiday

’s departure last summer, left the Bucks scratching their heads, which prompted them to make a mid-season head coaching change, bringing in the experienced Doc Rivers.

But coaching alone could not help improve their defense – or lack thereof – where they would finish the regular season with a 115.0 defensive efficiency, which was 19th in the league, while giving up the seventh-most points per game (188.8).

They were hoping some free-agency acquisitions could assuage those concerns, and they were able to bring in guard

Delon Wright

on a one-year, $3.3 million deal, who is very capable of defending the perimeter, while he offers some long-range shooting threat on offense too.

They followed suit by also signing veteran

Taurean Prince

, who, after coming off a starting role with the

L.A. Lakers

last season, will likely become an integral part of the Bucks’ supporting cast.

But, perhaps their best deal of the summer was their most recent one. Having gambled on himself to make more than his $18 million salary last season, former

Toronto Raptors

guard Gary Trent Jr., was left red in the face and had to swallow his pride to come off the market.

The Bucks therefore got a huge discount, and were able to sign him for the veteran’s minimum, getting another outside weapon who is also a steals merchant, and simply just a nuisance to the opposition on defense, which bodes well for them going into the 2024-25 season with improved personnel.

Trent Jr.’s ‘Defensive Activity’ Can Help Bucks

Medina argues that getting Trent Jr. on such a small contract was a ‘steal’ for Milwaukee, as he provides them with some much-needed defensive activity, while also being strong when it comes to hustle plays, and being overall competitive night in-night out.

Bringing Maximum Potential on a Minimum Steal

Trent Jr. is a consistent sharpshooting performer from distance

Trent Jr. may not have had his best season last year. In fact, it was statistically his worst for the Raptors, in which he averaged only 13.6 points at a 42.6 percent shooting clip, though he did average 39.3 percent from beyond the arc – his best output since the 2019-20 season.

A potentially devastating threat from deep, the 25-year-old has shot above 37 percent from behind the three-point line in four of his six seasons in the league, establishing himself as a premier marksman with a career average of 38.6 percent.

The Bucks will be welcoming Trent Jr.’s defensive energy though, where he recorded over a steal per game last season (1.1), bolstering his career average of 1.2 steals after back-to-back seasons in which he added 1.6 and 1.7 steals between 2021 and 2023, respectively.

Furthermore, he averaged 2.1 deflections per outing, which will help the Bucks, who ranked a mere 17th overall in deflections (14.3) last season, and ranked dead last in the playoffs, in which they recorded only a lowly 8.8 per contest – the only team to average single digit deflections.

All in all, the Bucks got a grand pickup who can bring hustle and sharpshooting at a fraction of the price that he feels he is worth, and Trent Jr. himself will go into the 2024-25 campaign hoping he can perform at his optimum, with the added motivation of earning a more lucrative long-term deal next summer, which bodes well for all parties involved.

All statistics courtesy of Statmuse, ESPN, NBA.com and Basketball Reference.

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