Hundreds of millions have already been handed out in NBA free agency. While everyone is waiting for LeBron James’ shoes to touch down in a new city, the one move that’s caught everyone’s attention is Gary Trent Jr.’s contract with the Milwaukee Bucks.
Why? Largely because the player who averaged just 8.1 points per game last season is now under contract for an average of $16 million per season. That’s nearly two million for every point he averaged last season. That’s not exactly common.
Yet, the Bucks also aren’t expected to be contenders after trading Giannis Antetokounmpo. So, could Trent’s new contract be a way for the Bucks to ensure they meet the NBA’s minimum salary cap over the next four years?
Gary Trent Jr.’s Bucks Contract Attracting NBA Attention
When free agency tipped off, good luck finding anyone predicting Trent, who started just 21 games last season, to earn a contract anywhere close to what he landed. After all, it was just last offseason when he inked a two-year, $7.58 million contract after hitting the open market, so what changed?
Trent ended up playing in fewer games, averaging fewer minutes, took and made fewer shots, and of course averaged fewer points per game.
His shooting percentages were also down across the board. In other words, Trent had a worse season, by all accounts, yet suddenly getting over four times as much money as before.
It might be the best job of negotiating a new contract by an agent in NBA history. Other role players should be sprinting to hire Trent Jr.’s agent for themselves.
Meanwhile, NBA insider Marc Stein reports that the NBA is still in disbelief over Trent’s contract, and his deal has arguably generated more discussion than any other storyline in the league since it was reported.
“What about Gary Trent Jr.’s eyebrow-raising contract with the Milwaukee Bucks?” Stein asked. “Even with James’ future and the status of the Kawhi Leonard-to-Toronto trade still both in limbo, no weekend topic generated more noise in the desert than the reported four-year, $64 million contract agreement between Trent and the Bucks.”
While the initial dollar amount is still mind-boggling, insiders like Stein reportedly heard rumblings of Trent potentially landing a sizable raise this offseason. Still, no one expected those numbers to reach $16 million per season.
“The Stein Line started hearing rumbles about a potential three-year, $45 million deal for Trent — who played out the past two seasons in Milwaukee on sub-$4 million salaries — back in June before the draft,” Stein said. “It took a while in the end, but the smoke couldn’t have been more real. The 27-year-old — after averaging just 8.2 points per game last season while shooting 38.7% from the floor — wound up landing a new Bucks deal one season longer than those pre-draft projections at better than $15 million annually.”
Teams aren’t going to be critical when opponents shell out more money than expected. If anything, they’ll celebrate this one.
Though it’s also important to note that nothing has been made official quite yet.
“The league-wide response has been profound shock… even when such a deal for Trent had been whispered about for some time. Quite a paradox,” Stein adds. “How the league office reacts to such a contract, however, remains to be seen. The deal has not yet been announced by the Bucks, which I’m told is among the reasons that the league office has issued no response to requests for comment on the signing amid copious amounts of external noise that it is, at the very least, quite curious in the wake of the two low-dollar deals that Trent (repped by the aforementioned Paul’s Klutch Sports agency) signed with them and how he performed in 2025-26.”
This may not be the last we hear about Trent’s new contract in Milwaukee. Stein closes by adding that NBA commissioner Adam Silver will likely be asked about the peculiar contract later this week.
“NBA commissioner Adam Silver is expected to address the media here as early as Tuesday in Vegas after the usual summer league session convened by the league’s Board of Governors every July,” Stein reports.
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“Silver will almost assuredly be asked about the Trent deal as well as for specifics about the league’s role in Toronto’s decision last week to put its agreed-upon trade with the LA Clippers to re-acquire Leonard on an indefinite hold.”
Whether Silver will offer much clarity on this situation remains to be seen. That’s if he even addresses it at all.
