- Toronto’s Gary Trent Jr. sat out Sunday’s win over the Lakers with a bruised lower left leg, and with the Raptors having eight games left in their season, he represents an interesting case.
While this has no material impact on the Raptors re-signing him — Trent’s market value far exceeds that qualifying offer amount — it does somewhat impact Toronto’s cap space scenarios for this offseason. The Raptors can generate roughly $23 million in space by waiving the non-guaranteed deals of Aron Baynes, Rodney Hood and several fringe rotation players but would have $2.5 million less if Trent returns to action for these final seven games.
Currently holding the league’s eighth-worst record but sitting 2.5 games out of the play-in and still having a game left against the 10th-place Wizards, the Raptors are in an interesting spot. No, the cap implications aren’t worth sitting Trent out, especially after Sunday’s win in L.A. But if they drop a few games this week and Trent isn’t back yet, it will become a more interesting conversation."
The Athletic