Gary Trent Jr. adapting to a defensive stopper role

[Dalek]

I think Gary Trent Jr. is the forgotten player on the Raptors, as many measure his value with strictly how much scoring output he has as a measure of his value. Since February, I have noticed more of a role change for Gary Trent Jr. to be more of a POA defender. We are seeing a very focused Gary Trent Jr. lately that is helping generate a ton of deflections and stops.

You notice GTJ on the primary on guys like Haliburton and Trae and used to pressure them early. Both players had terrible games:

Young 4-13 31% from the field
Hailburton 2-11 18% from the field

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For the month of February, Gary' defensive numbers:
36% Def FG% (3rd best in the league)
2.2 deflections (24 total)
57% of looses balls recovered on defense
15 steals
3 blocks

Gary also chipped in 10.8 PPG 37.5% from three in some really timely shots and has had a few big scoring games as well. This kind of scrappy hustling Gary who is like a third/fourth option on offense seems like a really good spot for him. If this keeps up, I think bringing him back has to be considered because he might be our best defender on guards.

[OakleyDokely]

He has defended well lately. If he can adopt his game to become a guard stopper, that definitely makes him more value. Still has to show he can do it consistently over an entire season.

[LLJ]

He has defended well in the past, in fact that was his main value prior to the last 2 seasons, his ability as a 2-way player.

If he were a better passer and not such a chucker he'd be the perfect starter.

[lolwut]

Trent is who he is as an offensive player at this point. His defense will dictate how much he'll get paid moving forward.

[MessiahUjiri]

Gary is more of a gambler than a disciplined defender, from whenever I’ve seen him. He can get steals but it hasn’t always meant defensive stopper.

Kinda like the opposite style of Bruce Brown in some ways. Brown plays more physical and gets down in his stance.



I’m still of the opinion that we should re-sign Gary, if he can come around the same as his current value ($16-18M/year). It might end up being another 2+1 deal with him.

[Scase]

Gary is more of a gambler than a disciplined defender, from whenever I’ve seen him. He can get steals but it hasn’t always meant defensive stopper.

Kinda like the opposite style of Bruce Brown in some ways. Brown plays more physical and gets down in his stance.



I’m still of the opinion that we should re-sign Gary, if he can come around the same as his current value ($16-18M/year). It might end up being another 2+1 deal with him.

This is what I came to say as well. He still gets blown by pretty easily and his positioning is pretty bad in most cases, he bodies up against players too fast for him and throws his arms up to show the ref he isn't fouling. GTJ is the LaCroix of defence.

I think he could probably get better, but I question his ability to develop and change. He hasn't added much of anything to his game since coming here, aside from that one season with tons of steals, and well, gambling. There's a lot of stuff he would need to improve on to become a legit defender, I just don't think it's worth the investment as it'll likely be a multi year thing.

[Johnny Bball]

Trent isn't going to be a defensive stopper, but GTJ being called a terrible defender here is a mix between myth and bad take. I think GTJ is average to slightly above average night to night.

I'm not sure when it happened during that game, but in Trae's defense, he tore a ligament in his finger that game.

[Dalek]

Gary is more of a gambler than a disciplined defender, from whenever I’ve seen him. He can get steals but it hasn’t always meant defensive stopper.

Kinda like the opposite style of Bruce Brown in some ways. Brown plays more physical and gets down in his stance.



I’m still of the opinion that we should re-sign Gary, if he can come around the same as his current value ($16-18M/year). It might end up being another 2+1 deal with him.

I hate the gambling for steals but he has been more conservative lately and it has helped the team more. I just think he is pretty comfortable in this type of role.

Cost-wise it is difficult to imagine him at the same level in a thin free agent class. He is still over 40% from three and if proves himself as a defender. Toronto doing a longer 4 year deal might be a good option as he probably wants a home long term.

[DelAbbot]

Is this a joke? he's never been good defensively. Gambling for steals when he first came here under Nurse, then stopped putting in effort being a disruptor for steals and just giving up blowbys.

[2019nbachamps]

He needs to go

[YogurtProducer]

Usual suspects are here to **** on their kill-list players rather than discuss the topic at hand already I see

GTJ is fine on defense. Some matchups are bad for him, some are good. When he is engaged and energized his D can be pretty good, and it looks like the entire team since the ASB is trying a bit harder. With the deadline passed hope we can continue to see that

[YogurtProducer]

Trent isn't going to be a defensive stopper, but GTJ being called a terrible defender here is a mix between myth and bad take.

And right on queue...

He needs to go

Is this a joke? he's never been good defensively.

He still gets blown by pretty easily and his positioning is pretty bad

Heaven forbid we actually discuss the OP instead of pushing our personal agendas.

[MiamiSPX]

We can probably re-sign him as he loves the city and team. He also seemingly never cares whether he starts or comes off the bench. We shouldn't just let him walk. He's only 25 still.

Numbers are down across the board but directly correlated to his decreased minutes. 41% from 3 is no joke.

[OakleyDokely]

Opponents TS% while being defended against GTJ (guards only):

23/24: 56.4
22/23: 58.6
21/22: 56.8

He's been average-ish overall this year when defending guards. When you add in the turnover creation, he's probably above average.

But if you compare him to Ochai, whose been used in that POA defender role against guards this year, he's holding guards to a 50.7 TS%, which is significantly better.

[C_Money]

He’s never been a terrible defender. You don’t want him guarding the other team’s best player but he usually isn’t.

[Tofubeque]

This was his role when he first made the league in Portland, and the reason for optimism that he could be a 2-way player here. Not sure what happened since, became too focused on his offense or steals under Nurse.

One thing's for sure, you'd rather have him defending PGs than Quickley. That's not Gradey's position either, as much as we want to see him starting. And Ochai might be the best option on defense but he's not going to shoot 42% from 3. Suddenly you can see a case for keeping GTJ around.

[TheAlchemist23]

He's great against point guards.

[Johnny Bball]

Is this a joke? he's never been good defensively. Gambling for steals when he first came here under Nurse, then stopped putting in effort being a disruptor for steals and just giving up blowbys.

Did you really never even figure out that was exactly Nurse's plan on defense? And you ask if its a joke? Jesus.

[XTC]

GTJ 100% has the capabilities to be a positive defender.

Wasn't he top 5 in deflections (and lead the league in steals for a large portion) just 2 years ago? His defense has never worried me, and I feel that's why coaches love him. His approach to offense is worrisome. If he could embrace defense a little more, and embrace being the release valve, and smarten up his shot selection, he's such a valuable player.

A wide open GTJ 3 is money.

[Dalek]

Is this a joke? he's never been good defensively. Gambling for steals when he first came here under Nurse, then stopped putting in effort being a disruptor for steals and just giving up blowbys.

I think "never been good defensively" is an overstatement. He established himself as a decent on-ball defender in his Portland years, and had a very good season in 2021 with Toronto when we had a good defensive club and a very aggressive scheme, as you mentioned.

Yes, he is known to jump passing lanes for steals, but over the past month he has been a pretty steady defender as shown by the stats from the past month (he is a league leader in DFG%). In a very small sample, you would have noticed his defense on Trae and Haliburton.

I think under Darko he is shifting back to becoming a stronger on-ball defender, taking hits on screens and staying attached to his check. He has good hands despite the smallish wingspan.

This is a pretty bad defensive club for the most part, so it is hard to notice good defense, but GTJ has been solid. If he keeps this up we might actually have to keep him.