As ESPN's Shams Charania reported on Thursday, the NBA is investigating the Milwaukee Bucks for the fully guaranteed four-year, $64 million contract they gave Gary Trent Jr. in free agency for possible salary cap circumvention. One thing the team can do is point to last season's chaos, saying they didn't want to hold that against the 27-year-old.
From the ongoing Giannis Antetokounmpo saga to Doc Rivers still being in charge, all while pressure was mounting on the Bucks, a lot was going on. Trent having a down year wasn't surprising, though, admitting his new contract is.
Still, Milwaukee knows the kind of value that the guard, who is just 27, brings and could've chosen to pay him off that... maybe?
Bucks have a big Gary Trent Jr. question to answer
After averaging double-digits in his first two seasons in Milwaukee, Trent averaged 8.1 points (the lowest since his rookie season) in 21.2 minutes per game (also the lowest since his first season), shooting 38.7% from the field and 36% from three.
He still opted out of his $3.8 million player option for 2026-27 and, nearly two weeks into free agency, ended up signing a deal that will pay him an estimated $14.3 million in his first year. Two summers ago, when Trent first joined the Bucks, it was on a minimum deal, and last offseason, he signed a two-year, $7.5 million contract, though he could've (and should've) made more than that.
The league is checking whether Milwaukee had a handshake deal with Trent that convinced him to take less than he was worth last season, in an effort to make another championship run with Antetokounmpo, in exchange for a larger deal down the road.
Hopefully, of course, that wasn't the case, as the league could punish the Bucks by taking away draft capital. When the NBA found the Timberwolves guilty of salary cap circumvention with Joe Smith in 1999, Minnesota lost three first-round picks. Milwaukee doesn't need that cloud hanging over its head after just getting rid of one that put a damper on last season.
In the end, this could benefit the Bucks by motivating Trent to have a season on par with his production with the Raptors. It can't be good for your confidence to know that your boss is investigating your manager for giving you a raise they think you don't deserve. He can flip the script and boost his trade value in the process, which would help Milwaukee if he's too good to keep around.
He could've been due for a bounce-back season regardless, now that the Bucks won't be dealing with nonstop distractions like they were last year. By no means is Trent a bad player, and he could end up proving (or come close to proving) that he was worth the four-year deal.
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