"Not worried about a 3-game pizza party": Gary Trent Jr on Darko Rajakovic's 3-win challenge, Raptors with IQ and RJ Barrett, NBA journey (Exclusive)
For better and for worse, Toronto Raptors guard Gary Trent Jr. remains aware how a roster move can bring dramatic change.
With the Raptors acquiring RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley from the New York Knicks for OG Anunoby, Trent has reunited with two former teammates on Team USA’s U-17 World Championship team. The move also could foreshadow the Raptors making future moves leading into the Feb. 8 trade deadline.
“It’s a reoccurring thing every year,” Trent told Sportskeeda. “Somebody is on the [trading] block, so it’s really not that important to me. I really don’t care.”
Instead, Trent has always tried to embrace his circumstances.
After the Portland Trail Blazers selected him at No. 37 in the 2018 NBA Draft, Trent learned under Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum before eventually thriving as a dependable scorer and shooter. Trent’s role then grew dramatically after the Blazers dealt him to the Raptors before the 2021 trade deadline. Trent has faced a relatively reduced role under first-year head coach Darko Rajaković, but he still has helped the team as a dependable secondary shooter.
“I’ll continue to be an energy giver instead of an energy taker and bring nothing but positivity to this team,” Trent told Sportskeeda. “Any opportunity that I’m given, I just want to showcase what I can do and contribute to winning.”
Gary Trent Jr interview (Exclusive)
Trent spoke to Sportskeeda about the Barrett and Quickley trade, Scottie Barnes’ growth in his third season, how Trent has adapted to his role and and more.
Editor’s note: The following one-on-one conversation has been condensed and edited
How is the morale of the roster after landing RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley?
Gary Trent Jr:
“It’s exciting. It’s been fun. Obviously, we still want to continue to figure it out. That’s everybody – myself, Scottie [Barnes], Pascal [Siakam], -- we’re all dealing with adding players to our team that can help us and all try to mesh. It’s already been cool. I’ve known RJ and Quickly since we’ve been 15 years old. It’s already transpired as a full-circle moment. It’s crazy to come back and be a part of the same team with them. Obviously, I’ve been competing against them for so many years. But I’ve known them from age 15-16. Me and Quickley were on the Team USA teams when we were in high school (U-17 World Championship team). I’m familiar with his family, and his family is pretty close to mine. Our aunties are cool in the sense. That’s cool, though.”
What memories with Quickley stick out with you during that time?
Trent:
“Our USA Basketball experience is our biggest accomplishment that we had to date as high schoolers. We were trying to take the next steps, represent our country and take it into the league. Now, we’re all here. We continue to keep working and try to show improvement.”
RJ and Quickley are both great at providing rim pressure for your team, as is [Dennis] Schroder. How does their drive game help you as a shooter and scorer?
Trent:
“It’s cool. Their presence, like you said, they are good players and good shooters. You have to respect them out there as well, too. So, it opens up everything. It’s really just about trying to find shots, get shots and having a decent amount of usage with all of these great players as well, too. So, it’s kind of hard to find your shot or where to get the shot. They come and go. Everybody tries to make it work and try to win.”
How do you try to make it work?
Trent:
“Go out there and play and try to make it work. That’s really the only way. You can’t talk about how it’s going to be until you get the product out together on the floor.”
You are all great shooters. Have there been any competitions among you three so far in practice?
Trent:
“We haven’t been playing too many games. It’s really just about getting in work and trying to implement the new plays and get the guys up to speed on the new system that we got going on.”
What about when you played together earlier in high school?
Trent:
“It was never really competitive. It was always trying to push one another and make the next man better. That’s really all it’s been about. It was about communication and what you see on the floor. If you see an opportunity that a guy could’ve had that he missed or a play where he should’ve gotten a shot, you just communicate. It was about showing the game and speaking the game to one another.”
Another month of uncertainty awaits on whether there’s other shoes that drop leading into the trade deadline (Feb. 8). How do you deal with that?
Trent:
“It’s nothing. It’s the same thing that is going to be every year. This is already written. It’s a reoccurring thing every year. Somebody is on the [trading] block, so it’s really not that important to me. I really don’t care.”
The organization has made various changes in recent years [before the trade deadline and free agency]. What has the adjustment been like with integrating new players?
Trent: “You just roll with the punches. That’s all you can do. You don’t have a choice.”
What do you take away from the team’s LA trip that entailed two close losses to the Lakers and Clippers? (Raptors now have a 15-23 record, fourth-worst in the Eastern Conference).
Trent:
“We continue to fight. We continue to stay together no matter what. Now it’s back to the drawing board, watch the film and get ready for Utah (on Friday).”
What will it take to win those close games?
Trent:
“Attention to detail. Just making plays. Finding one another. Just hooping and playing.”
What did you think of your coach [Darko Rajaković[ calling out the officiating in the Lakers’ loss?
Gary Trent Jr:
“He’s just protecting our team. He feels a certain way about it, and he gave his opinion on it. That’s all I really got.”
What’s the key to getting more free-throw attempts?
Gary Trent Jr:
“Continue to stay downhill, continue to attack and do our moves and try to get contact. Hopefully we’ll get the whistles. Whether we do or not, we still have to go out there and play.”
How have you seen Darko try to manage everything as a first-year head coach?
Trent:
“In his first year, he has been doing an exceptional job. He makes sure everybody is mentally decent and mentally okay. There have been times where I’ve played for some coaches and they don’t speak to you. They say nothing to you. Especially if you’re at the end of the totem pole, you may not hear anything from them. But he checks on the mental health and checks on how you’re doing. He checks on your family. So, he’s super proactive with doing that for every last one of us.”
Darko has promised the team a party on his own dime if you win three consecutive games. What do you think of that?
Trent:
“I remember him saying that, but we already eat a lot together as a team. We’re not really worried about a three-game pizza party. We always go out together. We’ve already gone out to a few restaurants as a team in certain cities. We’re getting new pieces as we continue to go. So we have to gel and know who we’re dealing with and who we’re playing with. We just had a trade, so we’re all trying to mesh and figure each other out.”
Scottie has progressed into an All-Star caliber player. What parts of his development most impress you?
Trent:
“His ability to grow with the opportunity he’s been given. He’s doing everything he should be doing with it. I’m excited for him and happy for him. It’s great to see his development, and see how far it can go. He can only go up. He just has to continue to keep going and continue to keep working.”
Where do you think he’s grown the most?
Trent:
“Nothing. He just continues to do everything he’s going to do. The organization has empowered him to grow and empowered him to blossom into whatever he can wrong or right. It doesn’t matter. With that recipe, he’s set up for nothing but success.”
What was it that gave you the confidence to hit the ground running with the Raptors after they acquired you from Portland [in 2021]?
Trent:
“It was the opportunity that I was given. Nick Nurse put me in certain positions to score. He put me in certain positions on the defensive end to get steals. Now we’re here with a new coach with a whole new season. Everything is completely new. We’re simply trying to figure it out and keep pushing and try to continue to keep getting wins. I’ll continue to be an ‘energy giver’ instead of an ‘energy taker’ and bring nothing but positivity to this team. Any opportunity that I’m given, I just want to showcase what I can do and contribute to winning.”
What are good examples of you being an ‘energy giver?’
Trent:
“Cheering my teammates on, no matter what. I was used to playing or had played whether it was 35 minutes in the last three seasons to 30 minutes and now playing 25. Whatever it may be, I’m not having an attitude whether I’m getting shots or not getting shots or whether a teammate misses you or whether your usage rate is lower than it’s ever been in your career. Just different stuff like that. You just stay positive, continue to keep working and cheer your teammates and the next man on. Everything will work itself out and come back full circle. Things like that will factor in. So, I’m just showing positivity and trying to help my teammates. If I see something on the floor that is not there or is there, I’ll communicate to a teammate and hope they have my back and they will do the same.”
Where does having that mindset come from?
Trent:
“You have to factor in what you’re doing and how you’re doing. No matter how much you’re playing, you’re still in the NBA. No matter what your usage rate used to be, you are still getting an opportunity to showcase. You’re still getting an opportunity to play and do a lot of things. I’ve seen every aspect of this league in my six-year career. I was drafted and then I was in a suit and not playing at all [an average of 7.4 minutes in 15 games in 2018-19]. Then I went from 20 minutes [21.8 minutes in 2019-20] to getting 30 minutes [2020-21]. Then I went from 30 minutes to being a starter [2020-21]. I went back from being on the bench [this season]. I’ve seen every aspect of the game – on the bench in a suit, not part of the roster, a small part of the rotation and then being a big part of the rotation."
"I’ve seen every facet. You just have to stay level-headed, continue to stay working and believe in your craft and believe in yourself. Then you continue to show improvement and show how much you can help your team. Just control what you can control. I can’t control how much I get on the floor or how many shots I’m going to get. Nobody can. So everybody goes out there, tries to make it work and plays hard.”
You played alongside three future NBA players at Duke with Grayson [Allen] and Marvin [Bagley III] and you were drafted lower at No. 37. Could you have ever envisioned this ahead of making your NBA debut?
Trent:
“Everybody has got their own journey. Everybody has their own perception of the NBA. Me coming in at 37, my perception will be completely different than a lottery pick or a first-round pick. How we think about the league and our presentation to the game is different. But that doesn’t change the fact that you have to continue to work and still show improvement, no matter what number you’re picked at or where you’re at in your situation. You always got to continue to keep going and continue to keep striving.”
Since you all three have entered the league, have you all stayed in touch and helped each other through your different paths?
Gary Trent Jr:
“For sure. That’s with anybody. They’re not the only guys from college. Quickley and RJ are two guys out of the hundreds that we’ve been on the same journey since we were in middle school and elementary school. For all of us, our goal was to make it to the NBA. Some made it. Some didn’t. There’s still a whole bunch of players, obviously just seeing those guys and seeing their story and how they came along playing against each other and playing guys in fifth-grade national championships. Now we’re playing against each other in the league. It’s a cool, full-circle moment. We continue to keep working. Everybody is competitive and cheering each other on."
"It's a brotherhood. You have to think about real life. There are about 450 of us [in the league]. We already know about 100 to 150 of them all through grassroots tournament, whether it was the class before you or the class after you.”
What were the turning points that explain your improvement with your driving and ballhandling skills at the NBA level?
Gary Trent Jr:
“It was really just getting the opportunity to actually do it, actually try it and actually get the opportunity to see what works and what doesn’t work. It was a trial-and-error type of thing. The opportunities changed depending on situations and coaches. When I first got here, I had a lot of opportunities to do lot of stuff and learn different things. It’s a little bit here and there. But I just continue to keep going, continue to show improvement and continue to be there for my coaches and teammates.”
You hold a rather unusual record (+/- of +54 vs Warriors on March 3, 2021, 2nd highest recorded). What do you remember about that game?
Gary Trent Jr:
“We were in Tampa, and there was so much opportunity out there because we had nobody on the floor. We had nobody playing. It was just me and a whole bunch of G League guys, second-year guys and other young guys. We were in the transition of kind of not tanking, but trying to figure everything going on in Tampa. Then we had no fans. It was just a weird year. We were the only team that had to go to a different place. I just remember it was a super fun and high-level game. I played about 35-40 minutes, and I felt great [40 minutes].”
I understand the NBA has grown over the years with its shooting. But the NBA recorded its best shooting numbers during the 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons (from 3-point range). But can any of it also be attributed to a lack of crowds?
Gary Trent Jr:
“It’s really just a random thing. That’s more just how the game is going. There’s only a few players to do it with the traditional backdown [big man]. You know how they used to throw it in the paint, and the big man would muscle his way in? Now there is more cutting, more passing and more shot attempts. The pace is faster. So, that’s just a lot more shots.”
What was it about the NBA bubble in 2020 that your career took off?
Gary Trent Jr:
“When I was in the bubble, every single game felt like a playoff experience. Also in my rookie year, I was also able to be a part of a great team. My first team could’ve been Sacramento. But my first team was with Damian Lillard, CJ McCollum, Moe Harkless, Evan Turner and Carmelo Anthony. I’m seeing a different team, different approach and different leadership. I saw a real leader that is a top 75 player that made over $300 million [in Lillard]. I was able to be up and close in personal to see how he worked. I had to guard him full court every single day."
"Same thing with CJ McCollum. I was a rookie in a suit as a second-round pick [in 2018-19]. I had to do every little thing to make sure I gave myself an opportunity. In that position, you have to do the little things just to get noticed or just given a chance. They don’t care about the second-round pick in a suit.”
What did you learn from Dame and CJ?
Gary Trent Jr:
“Everything. The approach, the mindset and how to act and how to respect the game that comes with it.”
Facing Joel Embiid during the 2022 playoffs and getting 2 games off the Sixers against all odds was commendable. What was the best moment from that season?
Gary Trent Jr:
“I remember I got food poisoning. I don’t remember where it was from. I was beyond sick that whole series. The first two games, I was terrible. In the second game, I even had to leave during the middle of the game because I couldn’t finish and was throwing up. I remember going to Philly with food poisoning, and then us coming back for Game 3 and having a decent game. I was feeling a little better. By that time, we were down 4-1 and it was over with. But the playoff experience was fun.”
How did you overcome the food poisoning and play through that?
Gary Trent Jr:
“I got sick, threw up and then got better. I just tried as best as I can. You don’t have a choice. You’re getting paid money to do these certain things.”
Mark Medina is an NBA insider for Sportskeeda. Follow him on X, Instagram, Facebook and Threads