Bucks' Gary Trent Jr. addition caps summer of quality under-the-radar moves

It took two and a half weeks, but the Milwaukee Bucks filled their three open roster spots in free agency. The player they signed with their final roster spot may end up being the most impactful.

With that final spot, the Bucks agreed to a one-year, minimum contract with Gary Trent Jr., a 25-year-old shooting guard who spent the last three and a half seasons with the Toronto Raptors and can capably fill Milwaukee’s starting shooting guard spot next season. Trent averaged 13.7 points, 2.6 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.1 steals per game in 71 appearances (41 starts) in Toronto last season and knocked down 39.3 percent from deep on 6.4 3-point attempts per game. Throughout his six-year NBA career, Trent has shown the ability to consistently knock down shots and compete on the defensive end for more than 30-plus minutes a night.

Trent could be a massively valuable signing for the Bucks. And they pulled it off more than two weeks into free agency.

As the starting shooting guard for the Bucks last season, Malik Beasley was one of the league’s top shooters. But there is plenty of reason to believe Trent can fill the same role when put in a much better environment playing off Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard in Milwaukee. While playing with a far lesser group of creators in Toronto, Trent was one of only 17 players league-wide to attempt at least six 3s per game and also knock down at least 39 percent of their attempts last season.

Looking at Trent’s 3-point shot portfolio, it’s important to note that more than 82 percent of his 3-point attempts were above the break, like the one in the video above. While this might not matter on some teams, it is something the Bucks have prioritized as they’ve tried to maximize spacing around Antetokounmpo. Because of the intense pressure Antetokounmpo puts on the rim, the easiest way to create spacing for him is by increasing the distance of a closeout to a shooter. The only place to do that is above the break.

With Lillard though, Trent will also need to be able to knock down corner 3s. Last season, a career-high 31 percent of Beasley’s shot attempts (228) came from the corners, and he knocked down 46 percent on those attempts. The corner 3 has not been a strength for Trent throughout his career. Last season, on only 80 attempts, Trent made just 36 percent from the corners.

That could change once Trent, who spent two-plus seasons with Portland to start his career, gets to play with Lillard again because there is no doubt about Trent’s ability as a shooter.

Trent had real gravity with the Raptors last season. Toronto’s offensive options were more limited than the Bucks’, so Trent was likely given more defensive attention last season than he will receive in Milwaukee. Even if teams decide to defend Trent aggressively, the sharpshooter from Duke can still get his feet organized in a hurry and fire off a 3.

In the playoffs though, teams take away opportunities from players who can only shoot 3-pointers. To consistently beat playoff defenses, the best shooters need to be able to either attack closeouts and maintain the advantage created by the superstars on the team or create their own advantages. With his size and athleticism, Trent has been able to do that with sidestep one-dribble 3s, midrange pull-ups, floaters and sometimes getting all the way to the rim.

While most of Trent’s value comes on the offensive end, there are some signs that he may be able to bring a little bit more defensively if given the chance to focus on it more in a strong system with the Bucks.

Under former coach Nick Nurse, the Raptors built their defense on doing everything in their power to create maximum chaos and force turnovers. Trent thrived in that system, especially during the 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons, when he averaged 1.8 steals per game. Trent is instinctual when jumping passing lanes and going for steals, so he can make some high-impact plays when he does gamble.

Bucks coach Doc Rivers will be looking for him to worry more about being solid on the defensive end than helping the team increase creating turnovers. While the Bucks could certainly use some of that, any defense built around the rim protection of Antetokounmpo and center Brook Lopez will need point-of-attack defenders to focus on staying in front of ballhandlers and making things as difficult as possible.

That has not always been a strength for Trent, but there have been moments. During Trent’s first playoff action with the Trail Blazers in his second season with Lillard, Trent proved to be a nuisance for LeBron James as Portland took on the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference finals.

Trent, however, has not been able to sustain that level of focus on the ball throughout this career. Some of that could have been because of the environment in which he’s played, especially the last three and a half seasons with the Raptors. Trent will have to find a way to be more consistent defensively with the Bucks. With a 6-foot-9 wingspan, Trent has the size and athleticism to be better on the defensive end, but he will need to improve to make a true impact on both ends.

Similarly to Beasley last season, the Bucks have found a player who can start at shooting guard and knock down 3-point shots at a high clip, which should provide real value on a minimum contract. While Bucks general manager Jon Horst raised eyebrows with the selection of two teenagers in the NBA Draft, he pulled off the improbable by signing three proven contributors with only minimum contracts at his disposal this offseason.

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What the ‘King of Deflections’ Delon Wright brings to the Bucks defense

With Trent being able to slot into the starting lineup, the Bucks can now bring their first two free-agent signings, Delon Wright and Taurean Prince, off the bench, where their positional size and versatility can help Rivers fill out a more complete rotation. Rather than needing to start at shooting guard next to Lillard and then also fill minutes at backup point guard, Wright can more easily spell Lillard at point guard and also bring the necessary energy to the Bucks’ defensive effort. Prince will have the chance to slot into multiple lineups at both forward spots and help the Bucks play both big and small.

It might not have been splashy, but the Bucks depth chart looks better than it did last season as Trent, Wright and Prince have essentially taken on the spots filled by Beasley, Patrick Beverley and Jae Crowder at the end of the season.

The Bucks’ offseason changes made them bigger, younger, and more athletic heading into next season. And because all three additions are above-average 3-point shooters, they should have a chance to play in the postseason, if they can survive on defense. It will not make headlines like other teams in the Eastern Conference, but capped by the signing of Trent, Horst put together a strong under-the-radar offseason.

In the end, though, the only thing that will matter for the Bucks come playoff time will be the health of their key players. But given the team’s financial constraints as a second-apron team, the Bucks’ roster is more talented and better fitting than it was last season, which is something that was hard to expect at the start of the summer.

(Photo of Giannis Antetokounmpo and Gary Trent Jr.: Mark Blinch / NBAE via Getty Images)