The NBA is investigating why the Milwaukee Bucks handed Gary Trent Jr. a $64 million contract after his worst season in years

The NBA is investigating the Milwaukee Bucks over a four-year, $64 million contract extension given to guard Gary Trent Jr., as first reported by BroBible. A league spokesperson confirmed to Shams Charania that the NBA is examining whether the deal was used to get around the salary cap rules laid out in the collective bargaining agreement. The suspicion centers on whether the Bucks may have quietly agreed to overpay Trent later in exchange for him accepting a lower salary in past seasons.

Milwaukee had been operating deep in the luxury tax apron while carrying large contracts for Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard, which limited how the team could build out the rest of its roster. Trent originally joined the Bucks on a league-minimum salary of $2.6 million in 2024 because of those financial constraints. Signing him to a fully guaranteed four-year extension worth $64 million, which ranks as the eighth-highest total contract of this free agency period, has drawn scrutiny given that gap.

Trent’s production fell off considerably last season. He played his fewest minutes per game since his rookie year, averaging 8.1 points while shooting 38.7% from the field. Rules against circumvention are laid out in Article 13 of the league’s collective bargaining agreement, which prohibits teams from making undisclosed agreements or promises that would defeat the purpose of the salary cap.

Milwaukee’s tight cap situation is fueling questions about the timing of the deal

The theory under review is whether an informal understanding was reached, either when Trent first signed for the minimum in 2024 or during this year’s extension process, promising him a larger payday down the line in exchange for staying on the roster during the team’s tax crunch. General manager Jon Horst has overseen a run of team-friendly deals for other returning players this offseason, a pattern that took shape as Milwaukee reshuffled its backcourt following Lillard’s departure, including the emergence of Ryan Rollins as a secret weapon.

League precedent for this kind of case dates back to 2000, when the Minnesota Timberwolves lost five first-round draft picks and had a contract voided after a similar circumvention finding involving forward Joe Smith. Depending on what investigators find, the NBA can now impose fines of up to $7.5 million, force the forfeiture of draft picks, void the contract in question, and suspend team personnel found to have willfully violated the rules.

The league has the authority to request tax documents and other financial records to determine whether any compensation or promises exist outside what was submitted in Trent’s official contract. Scrutiny over financial arrangements in professional sports has surfaced elsewhere recently too, including after FIFA’s gift-value rules prompted Mexico’s national soccer team to return a set of watches gifted by an online personality.

The Bucks have not issued a public statement addressing the investigation, and Trent has not commented on the matter. The league has not indicated a timeline for when its review will conclude.