NBA to Examine Gary Trent Jr. Four-Year Contract with Bucks

Gary Trent Jr. signed a fully guaranteed four-year, $64 million contract to return to the Milwaukee Bucks. The NBA told multiple outlets on Thursday that it will examine the agreement. Trent's prior deal was a three-year, $51 million contract.

He joined the Bucks on the minimum salary in 2024 and re-signed in 2025 under Non-Bird Rights for a 20 percent raise. The new contract sits $4 million below the maximum permitted under Early Bird Rights. During the 2025-26 season Trent averaged 8.1 points, 1.2 assists, 0.52 steals and 1.892 three-pointers per game in 21.2 minutes.

The Bucks were already deep in the luxury tax when he first signed in 2024. The 2023 Collective Bargaining Agreement tightened league finances compared with prior rules. In 2020 the Bucks used the bi-annual exception to acquire Bobby Portis and later awarded him a four-year, $48 million contract in 2022 via Early Bird Rights.

The team also lost a second-round pick that year after agreeing to a sign-and-trade for Bogdan Bogdanović before free agency opened. The league is nearly 11 months into a separate cap-circumvention investigation involving Kawhi Leonard and the Los Angeles Clippers. Article 13 of the CBA allows circumvention findings on direct or circumstantial evidence.

Zach Lowe said on a podcast released Wednesday that league personnel had discussed for two months the possibility of a large contract for Trent after two one-year deals. In 1999 the Minnesota Timberwolves lost five first-round picks, two of which were later returned, after a similar violation tied to future overpayment once Bird Rights accrued.