Milwaukee has high hopes for Trent Jr.
As we inch closer to the start of the 2024-25 regular season and deeper into our Ranking the Roster series, the Bucks’ key off-season addition falls in line at No. 5.
There’s plenty of reason for Bucks fans to be excited about with Trent Jr. coming to town. Given the Bucks’ constrictions heading into the offseason, there was some bleakness in terms of how much they could actually do to to really take a big step forward. However, Trent Jr. ended up taking a one-year contract worth just about $2.6 million with Milwaukee, re-joining his former teammate from Portland in Damian Lillard. It was another fantastic and creative signing from Jon Horst.
Scoring is the biggest aspect of Trent Jr.’s game that will complement Milwaukee. Ideally, he’ll slot into the starting shooting guard position and bring his scoring capabilities with him. His scoring took a little bit of a dip last season, as he averaged 13.7 points per game following a 17.4 points per game stat line in the 2022 campaign.
He achieves his baskets in a versatile manner, both from mid-range and beyond the perimeter. In terms of spacing, that’ll do wonders with Milwaukee’s other playmakers in Khris Middleton, Damian Lillard, and of course, Giannis Antetokounmpo. It’s going to be really fun to watch how the spacing will create options for the Bucks’ offense.
Taking a look at his 3-point shooting, Trent Jr. definitely boasts above average shooting marks from deep. Over the past few years, he’s floated around the 36% to 38% range, taking about six to seven attempts per game. He also can discover the his shot through isolation rather than relying on a one-dimensional style of play centering around catch-and-shoots. It remains to be seen where his number of 3PA will fall with all the mouths the Bucks’ offense has to feed, but shooting at that level will always be welcomed.
Switching over to the negative aspects, there’s always bound to be nights where Trent Jr. is unable to find his shot. It’s something that Bucks fans are no strangers to with their team. When you take that many attempts, the highs are high and the lows are low. Cold streaks are a part of the game and the risk exists where Trent Jr. may be unable to convert when the team needs them. However, Milwaukee will hope other offensive weapons will be able to step up in that scenario.
You’d also probably want to see his assists number tick up a little bit. Last year, he averaged 1.7 assists per game. Given how much he handles the ball, whether or not he can increase that number will be something worth watching. However, I’d lean on the side of him improving that number given the number of offensive threats the Bucks boast.
Trent Jr.’s effective field goal percentage also floats around 50% to 52%, which is a number you’d like to see improvement on. Especially now that he’ll be on a team with Damian Lillard and Giannis Antetokounmpo, Bucks fans will welcome him passing up on those difficult or contested shots and instead giving it up to his teammates.
Alright, now let’s get back to the tradition of our polls. We’re far into this exercise. It’s time for you, the readers to take it away. Where do you see Gary Trent Jr. fitting into the playoff rotation?
Let’s move onto who will be broken down next:
As always, polls will close at 8 a.m. tomorrow morning!