NBA Looking Into Bucks’ Deal With Gary Trent Jr.

Trent’s new contract with the Bucks is reportedly worth $64MM and is said to be fully guaranteed. The terms of the deal were met with shock and suspicion around the NBA for a few reasons.

For one, Trent is coming off one of the worst seasons of his career. He averaged just 8.1 points in 21.2 minutes per game across 65 outings for Milwaukee in 2025/26, shooting 38.7% from the floor and 36.0% on three-pointers. The 27-year-old saw his role cut back significantly during the second half of the season, even receiving multiple DNP-CDs.

This offseason’s free agent market also hasn’t been especially favorable for role players like Trent. John Collins and Rui Hachimura are among the productive veterans who received similar average annual salaries but only got one fully guaranteed year on their respective contracts. Only seven free agents have topped Trent’s $64MM in guaranteed money.

A timeline of the Bucks’ contract agreements with Trent has also raised questions. Coming off a three-year, $52MM deal in 2024, he settled for a minimum-salary contract with the team. On the heels of a strong 2024/25 season, he accepted 20% above his minimum salary on a Non-Bird deal, which was the most Milwaukee could offer him at the time.

Now, with his Early Bird rights in hand, the Bucks were able to offer Trent a more significant salary for the first time and did so despite his down year — and despite the fact that Milwaukee’s backcourt has become increasingly crowded, with newcomers Tyler Herro, Kasparas Jakucionis, and Brayden Burries joining Ryan Rollins, Kevin Porter Jr., and A.J. Green. Four years and $64MM is just a few million dollars away from the maximum possible amount the Early Bird exception can accommodate in 2026/27 (roughly $68.3MM).

If the Bucks reached an agreement with Trent in 2024 or 2025 to eventually give him this sort of contract once they were able to do so, it would be considered salary cap circumvention. And if the NBA can find proof of that, it would be grounds for the franchise to face a significant penalty in the form of a fine and/or lost draft picks.

However, the league would likely be reluctant to come down hard on the Bucks without any evidence, since the team could make a case that Trent’s 2025/26 was an outlier and that he’s being paid based on the market rate he previously established (he earned $17MM+ per year from 2021-24). The Bucks and Trent’s camp would likely argue that the veteran swingman willingly accepted below-market deals in 2024 and 2025 without any future agreement in place in order to try to compete for a championship alongside Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Charania said this week that another team was “poking around” a possible sign-and-trade for Trent at “around the same number,” so Milwaukee could also potentially argue its apparent overpay was necessary to convince the former Duke standout to re-sign. However, Charania’s report didn’t indicate whether that supposed rival suitor was willing to give Trent a fully guaranteed contract or was looking to offload its own unwanted salary as part of a deal.