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Gary Trent Jr. has signaled that he will not sign an early extension with the Trail Blazers prior to the Dec. 21 deadline. According to The Athletic’s Jason Quick, Trent intends to test the restricted free agency waters in the 2021 offseason.
Gary Trent Jr. says he intends to play the season out and become a restricted free agent rather than negotiate a contract extension. In a sense, this is him betting on himself rather than trying to nail down the security of a multi-year deal. Good incentive for him to play well
— Jason Quick (@jwquick) December 10, 2020
Trent, who enters this season at 21 years old, was one of the breakout performers for the Blazers last season. In 61 regular season contests (8 starts), the former Duke star averaged 8.9 points per game and connected on 41.8 percent of his three-pointers.
This offseason, Trent was eligible for an early contract extension with the Blazers. Due to cap circumstances, Trent could have agreed to a new deal that topped out at $51 million over four years.
In October, it was announced that Trent signed with Klutch Sports Group, the same agency that represents Lakers superstar LeBron James.