Title: Gary Trent Jr. and Rodney Hood: Analyzing what the Raptors received in return for Norman Powell
Date: March 25, 2021
Original Source: The Athletic
Synopsis: In my latest for The Athletic Toronto, I broke down the Raptors trading Norman Powell for Gary Trent Jr. and Rodney Hood.
The Norman Powell era in Toronto is over. An incredible success story as a second-round pick, Powell was signed to a three-year deal ahead of his rookie season, played his way to a much bigger contract before restricted free agency and eventually developed to become a key part of a championship team.
The return for Powell in a trade with Portland? An incredible success story as a second-round pick who signed a three-year deal ahead of his rookie season and has likely played his way to a bigger contract in restricted free agency.
The parallels between Powell and Gary Trent Jr. are real, in a few ways. At first blush, that can make Wednesday’s trade, first reported by ESPN but confirmed by The Athletic, feel a bit like the mystery-box joke — they traded Powell for Trent, who could be anything, even Powell! Such reductive framing ignores a lot of realities about development curves, peaks, roles and, as unfortunate as it sometimes is to bring into the discussion with a player of Powell’s long-time stature in an organization, finances.
Blake Murphy Sports Writing 