Why Bucks' contract with Gary Trent Jr. has raised eyebrows around NBA

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News that the Milwaukee Bucks were re-signing Gary Trent Jr. to a four-year, $64 million deal surprised a lot of NBA followers on multiple levels, starting with how a player coming off a career-worst year could wind up getting four years of guaranteed salary.

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Liam McKeone of Sports Illustrated immediately ranked it among the worst offseason signings in the NBA this season.

The deal, which hasn't been officially announced by the Bucks, comes with baggage.

It makes Trent one of the highest-paid players on a team already awash in young shooting guards, and his production from last season doesn't obviously match the contract. For some onlookers, the deal reframes how the Bucks were able to retain Trent over the past two years at a much cheaper cost.

"The NBA should pretty clearly look into this contract in regard to salary-cap circumvention," wrote Sam Vecenie of The Athletic. "I cannot remember a player agreeing to sign for the minimum one year, having his worst season in seven years where he was a below-average player by any standard, and then receiving five times as much money in free agency the following year — let alone four guaranteed years in a marketplace where starting-quality players on good teams, which Trent proved that he was not this past season, had an exceptionally difficult time getting multiple guaranteed years. … that feels at the very least some real circumstantial evidence that this deal cannot be rationally explained."

Trent Jr. initially signed with the Bucks in 2024 on a one-year deal for the league minimum. That was a favorable situation for the Bucks, who were a second-apron team at the time and could only offer minimum contracts to free agents. It was easy to read the situation as Trent settling for less money to get the opportunity to play alongside Damian Lillard and Giannis Antetokounmpo.

He re-signed on a two-year deal before last season, worth a manageable $7.5 million. The second year was a player option that Trent declined this offseason.

As basketball reporter Grant Afseth noted, the structure allowed the Bucks to preserve early Bird eligibility for 2026, a provision allowing teams to exceed the salary cap for their own free agents who have spent two years with the franchise.

Then came the 2026 offseason, when a player who played 21 minutes per game in 2025-26, scored 8.1 points per game and saw a sharp decline in his shooting percentages received a four-year guaranteed deal.

The suspicion would be that the Bucks agreed with Trent on a smaller deal in the short term while promising a down-the-road payoff after the team's salary-cap situation freed up.

Article XIII, Section 2 of the NBA collective bargaining agreement bans handshake agreements like that, noting, "At no time shall there be any agreements or transactions of any kind (whether disclosed or undisclosed to the NBA), express or implied, oral or written, or promises, undertakings, representations, commitments, inducements, assurances of intent, or understandings of any kind (whether disclosed or undisclosed to the NBA), between a player … and any Team … concerning any future Renegotiation, Extension, or other amendment of an existing Player Contract, or entry into a new Player Contract."

Violation of the statute (a case that would come before an arbiter) could come with a fine up to $7.5 million, the forfeiture of draft picks, voiding the contract and even suspension for personnel willfully participating in any such violation.

But right now, there are no accusations on the table, particularly with the deal not yet official. Longtime NBA writer Mark Stein points out on The Stein Line that, while the story has generated buzz around the league, even if NBA personnel suspected the Bucks and Trent had a handshake deal, other teams might not complain since the Bucks are now compelled to overpay for a free agent.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Why Bucks' contract with Gary Trent Jr. has raised eyebrows around NBA

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