Gary Trent Jr.’s contract with the Milwaukee Bucks, an eye-watering $64 million in what’s essentially dead money over the next four seasons, is the undisputed elephant in the room for that team. Fans are right to feel a natural resentment toward the deal, but honestly, that ire needs to point to the GM, not the player.
The GM’s Deal With the Devil
Milwaukee’s GM was flailing last offseason, desperate to put together the best team possible around Giannis, and he cut a deal that could bring down much harsher implications than just a massive cap hit. We’re talking about potential league prosecution here. The NBA doesn’t even need proof of a handshake deal to deduce cap circumvention. Why else would one of the worst players in the league last year ink such a lucrative contract? You can throw out smokescreens, like claiming he took minimums to play with Giannis, and now the Bucks have to spend the cap space, but come on, those explanations just don’t pass the smell test.
Look, this “take consecutive minimum deals to get early Bird rights and then sign a big contract” tactic is old hat, sure, used by everyone over the years, but Trent’s deal stands out because he played so poorly the season before signing it. If the Bucks get penalized by the league for this fiasco, especially if those penalties are severe, you gotta wonder how much faith anyone can have in the GM’s decision-making.
On-Court Woes and the Team Mess
Now, let’s talk actual basketball, because it doesn’t get much prettier for Trent. He’s coming off what was basically his worst season in the league last year. Seriously, other than his rookie year, the 27-year-old never had worse shooting numbers, and he averaged just 21.8 minutes per game, also his lowest since he was a rookie. He even spent stretches completely out of the rotation! And defensively? Anecdotally, his effort and engagement were some of the worst I’ve ever seen, and let’s be real, the bar wasn’t exactly set high for him in the first place.
But hey, the team was a complete and utter mess all year, both on and off the court. Doc Rivers was constantly switching up the starting lineup and rotations, among other things. One could be forgiven for failing to find a groove amidst that level of chaos.
So, here we are. This contract looms large. What happens next with the league’s investigation could directly impact the Bucks’ future. If those penalties hit, especially hard, that GM is absolutely on thin ice. It’s a situation that could blow up their whole season.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Brew Hoop.
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