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Well, at least the Los Angeles Clippers can now potentially say they allegedly circumvented the NBA salary cap for a superstar like Kawhi Leonard.
At least they allegedly swung big! Let me explain.
Last season, despite a dynamite shooting campaign off the bench in the year prior, Gary Trent Jr.
agreed to return to the Milwaukee Bucks on a minimum contract.
This year, after a decidedly middling campaign in which Trent averaged just over eight points per game while shooting only 36 percent from the 3-point line, Trent declined a player option.
The Bucks still gave him a four-year, $64 million contract to stay in Milwaukee for the foreseeable future.
Huh?! But something doesn't add up here.
In an NBA where all 30 teams are seemingly being much more stringent about their salary cap usage than ever before because of things like the second tax apron , why would the Bucks commit so much money and term to an average-at-best player like Trent ..
right after one of the worst seasons of his career? That doesn't make sense.
Whatsoever.
Surely, knowing it would be a form of salary cap circumvention that is against the rules, Trent definitely wouldn't have agreed to a handshake deal to take a lower salary as Milwaukee worked (and failed) to keep Giannis Antetokounmpo , with the Bucks promising to pony up with a monster contract afterward ..
right? Unfortunately, that is exactly the accusation being levied against the Bucks and Trent right now: Free agent guard Gary Trent Jr.
has agreed to a four-year, $64 million deal to stay with the Milwaukee Bucks, Klutch Sports CEO Rich Paul and agent Lucas Newton tells ESPN.
pic.twitter.com/hZMDvuA816 Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 11, 2026 It is that mentioned discrepancy in performance and pay that makes the Bucks' and Trent's dealings here look so shady.
It'd be one thing if Trent was coming off a lights-out season, establishing himself as a must-have role player any team would love to have.
But that wasn't the case.
On a forgettable Bucks team, Trent was just a guy, someone who faded into the background with few standout moments.
He had the kind of campaign that should have earned him another minimum NBA contract, at best, not generational wealth in the form of $64 million.
Sure, you could argue the Bucks had a lot of money to spend to fill out their roster in the wake of the Antetokounmpo trade to the Miami Heat.
That's fine.
Without any further interrogation, I can see that argument.
Still, that doesn't mean they had to give it to a mediocre player like Trent of all people.
Which is what makes their intentions look so suspect in this situation.
You have to admit, though.
It's kind of funny to potentially watch an NBA team getting caught for salary cap circumvention because they gave a lot of money to a middling player at the worst possible time.
You don't see organizations stepping on this kind of rake all the time.
Appreciate it while you can.
Is the NBA investigating Gary Trent Jr.
and the Bucks for salary cap circumvention? While this Trent Bucks contract and its timing look extremely suspicious right now, at the time of this writing, there does not appear to be any inkling of any formal NBA league investigation into the Bucks or Trent.
That could obviously change in the coming days.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: Why Gary Trent Jr.'s new Bucks contract extension looks so fishy.