NBA looking into deal between Bucks, Trent Jr.
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- NBA is investigating the four-year, $64 million deal between Gary Trent Jr. and the Milwaukee Bucks for possible salary cap circumvention, a league spokesperson told ESPN's Shams Charania.
- Gary Trent Jr.'s contract was officially announced and submitted to the league Thursday morning, awarding him a significant pay raise and multi-year deal despite posting career-low averages of 8.1 points on 38.7% shooting during the 2025-26 season.
- Trent signed for the league minimum in summer 2024, then inked a two-year, $7.5 million extension before last season ($3.7 million in 2025-26) that established his Bird rights, allowing Milwaukee to re-sign him even over the salary cap.
- Trent opted out of his player option and is set to earn $15.2 million next season — a figure well above his perceived market value, according to rival executives who had been expecting the Bucks re-signing for months.
- The Bucks have assembled a crowded backcourt that already includes Ryan Rollins, Kevin Porter Jr., AJ Green, newly acquired Tyler Herro, Kasparas Jakucionis, Caris LeVert, and No. 10 overall pick Brayden Burries; at least one rival team expressed interest in a sign-and-trade for Trent.
- The NBA is invoking the CBA's 'prior agreement' clause — the same provision it used to void Joe Smith's contract and penalize the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2000 after a written, illegal secret extension was uncovered.
Why it matters: If the NBA finds evidence of a pre-arranged deal, Trent's contract could be voided entirely — as happened to the Timberwolves and Joe Smith in 2000 — stripping the Bucks of a backcourt piece and freeing up cap space they otherwise wouldn't have. The probe also signals to rival front offices that Bird-rights maneuvers used to elevate below-market players will face league-level scrutiny.
