ESPN: NBA investigating the Milwaukee Bucks’ contract for Gary Trent Jr.
The Milwaukee Bucks officially announced the signing of guard Gary Trent Jr. ESPN is reporting the NBA is looking into the reported 4-year, $64 million deal.
MILWAUKEE —
ESPN is reporting that the NBA is probing the Milwaukee Bucks’ contract for guard Gary Trent Jr. The Bucks made the signing official on Thursday.
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The NBA is probing the signed $64 million free-agent deal for Gary Trent Jr. with the Milwaukee Bucks, per a league spokesperson. https://t.co/EIkahRn6Tq
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 16, 2026
The contract is reportedly for 4 years and $64 million. This comes after Trent Jr. had his worst scoring season since his rookie year. In 2025, Trent Jr. averaged 8.1 points per game. In 2024, his average was 11.1 points per game.
Some NBA experts are wondering if the Bucks were circumventing the salary cap by being able to sign Trent, Jr. at a much cheaper cost over the last two seasons. Writers for The Athletic brought it up during a roundtable.
“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.”
Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic also wrote, “The contract is definitely … curious. It’s hard to explain in rational terms. Trent has been a declining player for several seasons. He signed a minimum contract with the Bucks and then posted his worst NBA season since he was on his rookie contract.”
WISN 12 News reached out to the Milwaukee Bucks about the investigation. A spokesperson told us, “We are aware of the league’s inquiry and have no further comment at this time.”