One of the stranger deals of the NBA offseason emerged over the weekend when Milwaukee gave reserve guard Gary Trent Jr. $64 million guaranteed over four years.<\/p>\n
The deal drew a sarcastic tweet from Bill Simmons calling it a \u201csteal<\/a>\u201d and added to a miserable summer for Bucks fans, who just saw the franchise trade away its cornerstone player, Giannis Antetokounmpo.<\/p>\n But it was popular NBA podcaster Nate Duncan who expressed the strongest skepticism toward the contract, calling it \u201cobvious\u201d salary cap circumvention and urging the league to punish the Bucks.<\/p>\n \u201cGary Trent getting 4\/$64 after the year he just had is obvious circumvention and should be punished by the league,\u201d Duncan wrote on X. \u201cThis would fall under the provision that there is no possible explanation other than circumvention.\u201d<\/p>\n Gary Trent getting 4\/$64 after the year he just had is obvious circumvention and should be punished by the league. This would fall under the provision that there is no possible explanation other than circumvention.<\/p>\n \u2014 Nate Duncan (@NateDuncanNBA) July 11, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n The reason this could be considered cap circumvention and not merely a stupid contract is that the Bucks signed Trent to veteran-minimum contracts each of the past two seasons in order to own his \u201cLarry Bird rights,\u201d which allow teams to give players larger raises and go over the salary cap to sign a player.<\/p>\n Trent\u2019s contract timeline with Milwaukee is similar to that of perhaps the NBA\u2019s most infamous cap circumvention scandal, with Minnesota and Joe Smith. In that case, the Timberwolves got caught putting it in writing that they would give Smith a larger payday years in the future. But Duncan believes the Bucks effectively did the same here with Trent.<\/p>\n Answering a follower\u2019s question about whether Milwaukee might truly believe Trent was going to bounce back, Duncan doubled down and called the deal \u201cthe most ridiculous contract in NBA history.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIf you have a player that the market doesn\u2019t value that you do at 4\/$64, then you\u2019re happy to pay him less,\u201d Duncan wrote. \u201cIt\u2019s the most ridiculous contract in NBA history.\u201d<\/p>\n Maybe they do (they don\u2019t). But there\u2019s also this thing called the market. If you have a player that the market doesn\u2019t value that you do at 4\/$64, then you\u2019re happy to pay him less. It\u2019s the most ridiculous contract in NBA history. https:\/\/t.co\/e7xDL2tKk2<\/a><\/p>\n