How was it a steal? Portland got a talent NOW guy in Powell who was averaging 19.6pts on 44% from 3... to go in and contribute right away for Portland in their playoff run. Especially when McCollum was injured. Powell helped space the floor a lot for Dame. Also lets not forget Norm is a 2 way force. Trent was a upside potential player with length ....... with 5 Guards in front of him in Portland. Also if you dont remember he looked confused on the defensive end. His strides on defense have only come with his time in Toronto. I would say all-in-all it was a decent trade with immediate success for Portland. Portland just flipped Normal to Clippers and his 1st game drops 28 with 50/62/85 splits. Ya. Def not a STEAL. Since Norman is still ripping up the league.
@@NovocaineTV norman is not ripping up the league, no was he doing anything when he got traded! trent jr was blocked liek you said, also any player in a new system is gonna be lost!! considering trent jr is performing better then norm, its a steal!
@@NovocaineTV Goes to show you what a great organization like Toronto and their coaching staff can do for players like Gary Trent Jr. and others who have struggled around the league. Rookies seem to do well in Toronto. Goes without saying Canada has been creating a ton of basketball talent in the last few years
@@doritogoat Exactly. Every rookie player who comes to Toronto blossoms under the Toronto coaching staff. There was no doubt that Gary Trent Junior had the skill set. But under the tutelage of the Toronto coaching staff and players like Fred Van Vleet and Pascal Siakam, he's improved those skills ten fold. I can't wait to see how Scottie Barnes improves year over year in Toronto. Toronto doesn't has anything to worry about have a decent team for the next couple of years.
I loved Norm (as all Raptors fans did) but because Gary elevated his defence to the level he has - this was an upgrade. Younger. More cost effective. More upside. I love Gary.
Powell and Derozen both loyal they both would had stayed whole career with raptors but with Derozen we all know it had to happen otherwise we would have never won a championship he couldn’t bring us to the next level.
Stole? i thought that Powell for GTJ trade was a straight up 1 for 1 swap. Powell is a hell of a player for any squad, he can score, play D, bring energy off the bench. I love GTJ and knew he would be a great addition to the team but I don't think we stole him from portland.
I really dont understand why Norm was seemingly such a beloved player (I mean this entirely based on his on court merit, in respect to his contract and not about his character / personality) He was a very solid rotation piece, best role is coming off of the bench. But his shooting was never fantastic and at times had awful streaks from 3. Gary Trent Jr is an upgrade in literally every single way. Younger, far better shooter, legit starter. How many games can you honestly say norm powell won for us over the years. I feel like a great game from powell was him playing above average defense, 30-35 mins and scores 18-25 maybe 4-10 from 3. A great game from GTJ is more like 25-30 points 7/14 from 3
Norm wasn't some ringer. The way he developed and became a solid piece in the Raptors' massive organizational change that ultimately led to a championship can't just be swept under the rug because GTJ is playing well and developing in his own right. Not gonna speculate on either of their futures because who knows who will be better in the end, but they're both solid players, so this was no steal and saying it was is pretty disrespectful to Norm.
When Gary was asked about his stellar defensive play earlier in the season, he said being in the starting lineup with Anunoby, Barnes, FVV, Siakim, he didn't want to be the worst defender on the floor, so he made a point of putting in the defensive effort so he wouldn't be the weak link. I don't know who the "worst" defender is in that group, but that person should still be in the running for All-Defensive team.
IMO the worst defender in that group is Scotty. He's gotten better but he still makes the most mistakes. Scotty also has the highest upside and has looked better the last couple weeks. Fun times to be a Raptors fan.
@@andygryphon yeah it's definitely Scottie. There are few rookies who would be able to hang all game in such an active defensive scheme and switch onto the other team's best players, so it's not like his defense isn't clearly elite. But he still makes lots of rookie mistakes
@@jaylenstark5866 2 years from now he’ll find himself on an all defensive team, dude is one of those guys that’s only gonna get better at literally everything
Gary was a steal. The Raptors are know for developing players so his finishing at the basket will only improve and making him an even more dangerous player.
He went from being a below average defender to being near the top of the league in steals and deflections in less than one season with the raptors… This guy is the perfect type of player for the raptors system
@@KillahManjaro crazy that they are already a dangerous team without a true centre and a terrible bench. Can’t wait to see what this team turns into in the next few seasons
@@Killerqueen2000 Gary Jr, just pure talent. Thank you Gary Sr. for giving us an amazing player and 23yrs of age, human being. He needs a raise. Also so happy for Fred VanVlett earning to go to All Star Team. Now the world may get a chance to see how good he is. Believe in yourself, Freddie 🤓❤️
Gary was no steal. He was not a two way player before getting to Toronto. Raptors staff is more than partially responsible for developing him further. He also benefited for unselfish culture amongst Raptors starters.
Agreed. Credits to the Raptors staff for the development program and unselfish team culture, but on top of that, Gary also got the chance to play more minutes in Toronto than what he got while he was in Portland, something that all NBA players, especially the young ones, need and want badly.
@@klyiu2006 totally argree, also his defense was never this elite. The Raptors coaching staff, and players that were on the team already always told him he needs to play better defense, and his teammates actually helped him to fit into the raptors defensive schemes. You bring a player, onto a team which it's either play defense or sit on the bench there definitely gonna excel through the roofs and we see that in Gary.
Everyone is agreeing, but that's not 100% true, he was the blazers best defender in the bubble and he was steller on D last year aswell, thats partially why the Raptors wanted him, but he's taking a massive step this year which I agree that's Raptors development and Gary's work ethic
What makes this trade even better is hearing Gary Trent Sr. explain today just how miserable his son was in Portland. While I hated to see Norm leave, I’m certainly glad we have Trent Jr now. And he just turned 23!
i love gtj & so does nick nurse. the raptors as a franchise, & the fanbase, really appreciate hard workers & players who buy into the development process.
I’ve been a Raps fan since expansion. I didn’t know a lot about Gary before he came here and love and still love Norm. But from game 1, that was it. He was special. And will be an all-star in a Raps uniform.
@@Jshowtime02 Siakam get rebounds and assists and uses his length to defend extremely well. Gary is a pure scorer. Not a great team defender, although he does get the deflections and steals. Not worth more than 22-25 mill/yr.
I don't really know what to think here because although GTJ is an absolutely great talent for us, but how much of it is due to how good the Raptors org has been with unlocking and fostering talent. It's how we made our name in the league. Bringing up no-names like PS and VV and unlocking/fostering their talent to become NBA allstars.
Agreed. Also because in portland they focus on getting the ball to their "stars" which explains why trent couldn't get his shots off their. As well as if you look at Powell before traded to the clippers since Lillard was injured he was scoring 20+ each night but with lillard and mccolumn his scoring drops dramatically. So the unselfish starters for the raptors also helped ihim a lot.
I think what the raptors have done is identify what players would fit the best and who are the most self motivated. These guys like Fred and Siakam were going to be great wherever they went but credit the raptors for seeing what many teams could t see in them. Development is part of it but at the end of the day you have to be self motivated and most of the raptors players are. That being said not every player we develop turns into anything special. Gotta give the lion share of credit to the player.
there is a interview with Gary's dad that played for the Raptors. He is Happy in Toronto he was not happy in Portland. The Raps will take care of him while he Thrives. Credit to his Father , a Prince soon to become a King.
He's not locked for that long because he has a PO for the third season, so he's basically a FA in the summer of 2023. Raptors traded Powell away for the same reason Blazers gave up Trent, they didn't want to pay him. But Powell was basically a finished product and GTJ wasn't nearly as good last season for the Raptors, especially on the defensive end, so you can't really call him a steal. They believed in him and worked with him and helped him develop in what he is today. No way he would've got this good if he stayed in Portland.
GTJ is balling but to say we stole him is just like lowkey disrespect to champion Norman Powell. We sacrificed Powell and just got a better player in return. Im just nostaglic from watching Norm be a 2nd round pick and developing along the bench mob and dunking Indiana playoff chances away in 16. Stealing a player is like when we gave up nothing but reality is we still gave up something and it is something that we invested in and developed.
it makes me laugh that all over the press they are saying clippers win the trade. but come on we knew who won the trade, it is raptors who traded powell for gary!
He's definitely not just a 3 and D guy. With another offseason of development he needs to work on his passing, that's the real next step for him to make a big jump. Other teams know if Gary drives past the 3 pt line with it 90% of the time he's taking a shot whether it be a contested fadeaway or a drive to the rim. He has to recognize when he doesn't have the best shot or best chance of finishing and take advantage of the doubles he gets when he is hot.
He’s gotten a lot better but I agree once he knocks down a few he tends to start missing reads and settling for shots when your hot it’s great but when your not those are just bad possesions
Dont underestimate the Raptors ability to develop players and get the best out of them, coaching staff is good, gary didn't play defense for Portland whilst the the Raptors he is a changed man on the two way end of things, shout out to Masai and Portland's horrible management lool
Raps develop Trents game and look how far he's come. All credit goes to the coaching staff and Trent for his hard work. You see it in his desire to want to be the best he can be on the floor. Even on off nights his defense helps.
No way to predict his offensive improvement especially being clutch. His defensive improvement is MIP level. Norman was at the time playoff proven, clutch, not a defensive liability, just a few bonehead decisions… like going 1-on-3.
To be fair to the Trail Blazers, Norman Powell was a lot better than Gary at the time of the trade. Trent was an inefficient chucker with bad defense for the Blazers and Powell was very efficient with good defense for the Raptors.
That is not true. Even in Portland Trent was seen as a good defender in his last year. Also he showed scoring, no one saw a chucker. You are just a average fan with no eye for details. There was a reason Portland made this trade. They wanted a veteran. Why you think Toronto give him that contract? For twenty good games? Jesus, wake up from your realGM bubble
Trent is younger but Norman Powell is a quality player with almost identical offensive stats to Trent. The Raptors didn't get a steal as much as Portland over estimated the quality of their team so they made a "win now" deal when they should have been starting a rebuild.
It’ll be interesting what the raptors do with their starting 5 in the future, all 5 will want 20+ mill dollar contracts and maybe pascal,fred, and scottie could want more, good news is that mlse has shown their not a bunch of cheapskates
@@markanderson3826 nope don’t think so. The team is built for playoffs. If you’ve ever watched them play you’d know that when it comes down to the final couple minutes in a close game they have 2 clutch players with Gary and Fred van vleet, and they’re defence is top notch. They hang with anybody in the east. The starting lineup has been fully healthy for the first time this season and they are gaining some ground in the playoff race. No team wants to face the Raptors in the first round. You’ll see.
@@markanderson3826 the fact that you say "another" shows you probably know next to nothing about the Raptors. Every single playoffs they made for the past 8 years has been second round at least.
It’s a temporary steal if he stays with raptors he has an opt out after next yr he can be gone after next yr if he signs elsewhere. I think he Lakers bound if he signs with lakers or another team then it’s not highway robbery because Powell would had stayed his whole career here. Only time will tell if it’s highway robbery?????
Masai saw a young scoring machine in the making and sniped him. Then signed him to a good contract and gave him a big role and made him improve his defence. Now he looks like a star
I love Norm, but Portland is kicking themselves for trading Gary Trent. They want to rebuild and go young and he fits that criteria. They traded Norm for nothing, literally nothing. Portland is dumb.
gary trent jr said he was depressed in portland. the offense was stagnant and he never had a chance to do what he thought he was capable of. theres a reason dame time never won anything.
I would argue that Gary Trent, Jr.'s contract is at best, a mixed blessing. The third year is player option, he'll be an unrestricted free agent, while the Raptors will have full Bird rights. If he falters, he may not decline, or re-sign with the Raptors. If he succeeds, as he looks to be, he will be able to choose where he wants to go. Either way, it's good in the short term for Toronto, but unless they can convince him to re-sign as an unrestricted free agent (always tough for Toronto, even with Bird rights), he's gone. Maybe they can arrange a sign and trade, but I would have much preferred that third year to be team option. It makes all the difference in the world.
I like how people try to use unique stats to justify how good a player is. For your information, I'm the best person not in the nba that is typing this exact comment right now. Sounds stupid with a qualifier like that. Not saying Trent is a bad player because i enjoy his game but it gets annoying when people justify arguments that way.
Gary Trent has a player option in the third year. He is not locked up/ We have him this year and next year, then he is going to ask for a raise. Get the facts straight before making a video.
You gat to give credit to the Raptors coaching staff. Trail Blazers are a trash team. Coaches only concentrated on Lilard and the other injured guy I can’t remember his name right now. Simon would have been stolen away from Trail Blazers if not for the injury that has given him the chance to prove himself. Raptors are always ready to give all players a shot to prove themselves. Some NBA team will live and die with two players handling the ball. Raptors used to be that team, with Derozen and Lowrey, until Nick Nurse was hired.
'Steal' is the word most commonly used to describe most draft picks and players acquired via trade by the Raptors in the last 5-7 years. Can we finally acknowledge that it's not the players, Raptors are simply an ELITE player development organization.
He is only locked up through next year. But they have his full bird rights. That means Raptors can pay much more and doesn’t put them in luxury tax and let’s them go over cap.. if they smell he doesn’t want to stay Toronto they can trade him for 2 young stud pieces. We are in good spot with Trent
I still watch that play when he hit the GW 3 after stealing the ball from the Bulls. You can see Nurse and even Barnes on the bench calling for the stack PnR that allowed Gary the open 3. To see Scottie yell at Gary from the bench shows Scotties IQ!
Breaking news! The air in portland locker room was sent to ER after found beating to the brink of death. So far no suspects are found by Dame was alleged to have be related to this horrific incident.
I dont understand how this was a steal. Its not like this Gary trent is the same Gary trent we traded for!. Gary trent made this happen improving his shooting and defensive within a year. It would have been a steal if he was producing this way in Portland! You gotta thank the coaching staff for believing in him and letting him play his game. This wasn't a steal he earned it! This could have easily went the other way as well!
@@emanuelsotelo8170 when did I say he wouldnt? At the time of the trade norman was the better player and the goal was to win now for the blazers. You dont trade for norman powell for the future lmao.
OMG!!Raptors got the best trade ever with GTJ!! Ohh boy, GTJ is a gem, treasure, valuable, amazing, superstar or megastar I may say!!! Don’t ever trade him!! That’s stupidity if u do that!!Keep the STAR!!’ He is an ASSET and worth paying n keeping!!!!!Raptors hit the JACKPOT by acquiring him!!! Thank GOD!!! The best acquisition!!!
In fairness to Masai Ujiri!!! Boy!! He knows d magic of creating a STAR!!! Whoever he traded, turns into a superstar!!! Touch of GOLD INDEED!!! I have TRUST in him!!! Very clever guy!!!SALUTE to him!!! I give him credit for his latest trades!!!! We love GTJ!!!Canada , we got GTJ, so let’s support d Raptors!!!So we will be on the MAP😂😂😂😂
If Raptors team play games with collect 2points Raptors not sure to win Eastern championship If Raptors team needs to win championship Eastern or NBA Champion Raptors must play game 3points shots
Dumb that the narrative that Raptors can't resign players due to playing in Canada is still around. Which in large part is probably just due to Kawhi leaving. Yes it was true in the past but over the last like 10yrs that is no longer the case other then Kawhi. But other then Kawhi look at everything else. Lowry I think resigned twice in Toronto and loved playing there. DeMar resigned at least once and also loved playing in Toronto. Only reason he left was due to being traded which really hurt for him. Then you have more recently guys like OG and Pascal. Who yes I know never did hit the open market instead Toronto gave them extensions before they became FA. Yet that doesn't matter as it proves both wanted to stay in Toronto. As they could have easily declined those extensions and become FA where they could go anywhere they wanted to and I think make a little more money. Then you have FVV who did become a FA yet he resigned. And the latest is GTJ who probably had plenty of teams who wanted him and willing to pay just as much as Toronto yet he stayed.
I liked Norm, like all Raptors fans did. But he was a limited player. Athletic finisher, good and very streaky shooter, average defender. To me, Trent looks like a complete player on both sides of the ball and a guy who could be an all-star in the next few years. Also 5 years younger. Such a beautiful jump shot, great elevation. At the time I didn’t know a huge amount about him, but right now that trade is looking like an absolute steal.
I love my Raptors.. Raptors are probably the only team in the NBA that don't have any "SUPER Star's" and still do pretty good.. they have a few star's but, usually it's new guy's on the team. They build them up and make them to great athletes. We lost alot of great player's but, still manage to win and play great.. Respect. The manager should be getting a trophy every year not to mention the coach and all the people behind the scenes...
I could be wrong, but I think that the Raptors actually shipped Powell because they couldn't afford to pay HIM. They took a shot on someone who wasn't getting shots up
Interesting you bring up trade when talking about Trent. Unfortunately due to injuries we've really seen a two sided raptors starting group. Do we play small and put our best 5 guys on the floor, or do one of these guys have to take the 6th man role come playoffs? I'm sure there will be certain series that justify having the depth, but I've definitely got some questions on the overall fit for this team.
Meh, Trent wasn't happy to be behind better players as a rookie, and second year player so he was going to be gone from Portland anyway since he wasn't humble enough to wait his turn. Yeah, he's playing super well the last couple years but it's not like he was going to play that level as a rookie. It's called development and unless you're on a bottom feeding team, you gotta be humble and wait your turn when you have top tier vets a head of you. Glad he's getting a chance to shine but I enjoy team first players on my Blazers so oh well, enjoy Toronto there Gary.
GTR was impacted by the defensive mentality that they lacked in Portland. he was only getting minutes with the Raps if he played defense, and he seized the opportunity.
Steal? I don't see how the trade was a steal. Their stats are very similar except that Trent gets more steals and Powell is a better three point shooter. I never got the point of it mattering that Trent is younger as Trent will be able to leave after a couple of years anyway. Believe that Powell is actually locked in longer. Their salaries are basically the same so that doesn't make the deal a steal for the Raptors. Hood didn't work out with the Raptors so he didn't make it a steal for the Raptors. Portland may have later almost given away Powell to the Clippers for little but that doesn't change the question as to whether it made sense for the Raptors to trade Powell for Trent. So I really can't see how the trade was a steal in any way. The only thing I can see is that Powell has a history of missing significant time through injury but that could be bad luck (though that did continue after he left Toronto). On the other hand Powell had been with the Raptors long enough that I think he likely had some loyalty to the Raptors, a valuable quality when so few NBA players want to come to Toronto to play. I don't know if Trent will feel the same loyalty although someone did say in their comment that Trent's father said that Gary is happy in Toronto. Overall I would say that trading Powell for Trent was not a steal because a steal is getting a player much more valuable than the player one is trading away and I just don't see that. Think the two players are more or less of equal value.
Blazers management dont have a vision for a championship...they showed how pathetic they are by the continued stupid trades that have given away some awesome players. The Gary Trent junior trade was just the beginning of careless, trades that followed. The money saved was no excuse...if it's just about money...then just watch people lose interest in this team. I love my blazers but they need to sell the team to someone who will keep the team in Portland and invest in great players and stop letting talent go year after year. Would not blame Lillard if he leaves.
Good video, but your nitpicking a bit with the stats. If ur gonna say he’s the 5th best pull-up 3pt shooter taking 3 a game, that probably only applies to 10 ppl in the nba so Is that even good?
It was not a steal. Portland wanted an immediate championship while Toronto was in the process of rebuilding at team. Portland wanted vets while TO was focusing on youths. If he was in Portland, he would still be on the bench.
