The NBA has launched an investigation into a four-year, $64 million deal for guard Gary Trent Jr. with the Milwaukee Bucks, to determine if it violates the league’s salary cap circumvention rules.
The NBA is reviewing the contract, which was submitted to the league Thursday morning, according to ESPN.
The NBA is investigating a four-year, $64 million deal between Gary Trent Jr. and the Milwaukee Bucks for possible salary cap circumvention, a league spokesperson told @ShamsCharania. https://t.co/OjnoBXDoRC
— ESPN (@espn) July 16, 2026
Contract doesn’t add up
There’s some concern in the basketball world about the timing and the magnitude of the deal, especially with what Trent did last season.
Trent’s 2025-26 output was his worst since his rookie year in Portland in 2018-19, when he averaged 8.1 points on 38.7 percent shooting.
Despite his recent decline, he is now on the verge of signing the most lucrative contract of his career.
The real concern is with Trent’s final two contracts with Milwaukee. He initially signed a minimum wage deal with the Bucks in 2024 but then signed a modest two-year extension worth $7.5 million before the end of last season.
Some critics say the Bucks’ below-market contracts could have been part of a handshake deal, where they agreed to pay Trent after he had earned his Bird rights, so the team could give him a much higher salary than he had earned recently.
Social media analytics figures called it one of the more transparent cases of possible circumvention in recent memory, and ESPN’s Tim MacMahon was among those who publicly questioned the deal.
Not the only probe
This is not the only cap-related probe currently underway in the league.
Kawhi Leonard and the Los Angeles Clippers have been the subject of a separate NBA investigation for almost 11 months, stemming from a $28 million endorsement deal with a bankrupt sustainability company.
That case is ongoing, illustrating the difficulty of resolving such investigations.
The league said it is “gathering further information” at the moment. There is no current timeline for the conclusion of the Trent investigation
