That massive four-year, $64 million deal Gary Trent Jr. inked with the Milwaukee Bucks this offseason? Yeah, the NBA’s investigation into it is still cooking, and it sounds like things aren’t slowing down. Joe Vardon from The Athletic dropped the word that the league’s probe into potential cap-circumvention by the Bucks and Trent is ongoing, and they are seriously digging in. This isn’t just some casual look-see; the league brought in a national investigations law firm, Hecker Fink, to handle the heavy lifting. An NBA spokesman confirmed the investigation is active but clammed up on further questions.
The Bucks’ Shady $64M Move That Caught The League’s Eye
So, why’s the league so focused on this? For those who haven’t been glued to the cap shenanigans, it all boils down to how Trent got his big payday. He signed consecutive, basically minimum deals with the Bucks over the last two offseasons. Why would a player do that when he could probably get more elsewhere? To accrue early Bird rights, of course. This made him eligible for a massive contract this offseason, which is exactly what he got with that $64 million bag. What really raised eyebrows is that this mega-deal came right after what was probably the worst season of his career. The NBA wants to figure out if the Bucks and Trent purposefully agreed to those smaller, cheaper contracts with an understanding that they’d reward him later. If that’s the case, it is a big no-no, a direct violation of the league’s salary rules. Both the Bucks and Trent’s agency, Klutch Sports Group, have declined official comment, but sources close to the situation say they are cooperating with the interviews.
No Smoking Gun… Yet, But The League Isn’t Done
Now, we’ve seen this movie before, right? Think back to the Kawhi Leonard saga or even the infamous Joe Smith deal from 27 years ago. In those cases, the league found incriminating documentary evidence proving similar agreements to get Bird rights and then a massive contract. Here’s the kicker for the Trent situation: as of right now, no such smoking gun evidence appears to exist. The Bucks, for their part, have stuck to their story. They are telling rivals they acted properly and completely within the rules, maintaining they always believed Trent’s market value was that $64 million. They even claim they had projections of likely free-agent contracts that prove they always saw him as a $15 million-per-year player on the open market. But don’t sleep on the league’s power. The NBA doesn’t necessarily need actual “documentary evidence” to issue a punishment. All they need to do is deduce that the Bucks and Trent agreed to an illegal deal.
This whole situation is a massive cloud hanging over Milwaukee right now. The league is clearly taking this seriously, and even without explicit documentation, the NBA has ways to enforce its rules. We’ll be watching closely to see how this probe wraps up and what, if any, punishment comes down from the league. You know the NBA hates it when teams try to get cute with the cap, so don’t expect them to go easy if they find anything.
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.
Leave a Reply