2023 NBA free agency: Raptors' Gary Trent Jr. will pick up $18.6 million player option

Trent reportedly will work on a long-term deal with Toronto

Instead of becoming an unrestricted free agent, Toronto Raptors guard Gary Trent Jr. will pick up his 2023-24 player option, worth $18.6 million, agent Lucas Newton and Klutch Sports head honcho Rich Paul told Turner Sports' Chris Haynes.

If this seems surprising, it might be because the 24-year-old was eligible to sign a four-year deal with the team of his choosing this summer, perhaps in a similar salary range. Instead, the Raptors can trade him anywhere as soon as he officially opts in, and, if he doesn't sign an extension, long-term security will have to wait until next summer.

Trent wants to stay in Toronto and intends to work on a new deal with the front office, according to Haynes. He'll be eligible to sign an extension on July 6, as soon as the moratorium period ends.

Did Trent go this route because he and his reps thought it was a smarter financial move than taking his chances on the open market? Even though he's the right age for the rebuilding teams that have cap space this offseason, this is possible. Trent's 2022-23 season wasn't quite as strong as his previous one, and the new collective bargaining agreement could have spooked suitors who would have previously been comfortable offering him significantly more than the midlevel. 

One of the concerns about the league's new, more restrictive salary-cap environment is that it could harm the NBA's middle class -- since teams will always want stars and good players on rookie contracts, it's the guys who don't fit in either category who could get squeezed. If Trent could not get any assurance that he'd find the kind of contract he was looking for in free agency, then he might be the first sign that this effect is real.

For the Raptors, Trent's decision is good news. They can no longer lose him for nothing this offseason, and they might be able to sign him to a team-friendly extension. No one knows what Toronto's roster will look like a couple of weeks from now, but it is currently starved for shooting. Fixing that glaring flaw would have been much more difficult if Trent had opted out and walked.