The Milwaukee Bucks’ post-Giannis Antetokounmpo trade decisions continue to send mixed signals. While the franchise needs a forward, the front office decided to crowd the backcourt even further with the latest deal for Gary Trent Jr. The four-year, $64 million contract is under scrutiny, with netizens urging an investigation.

“The NBA should probably take a look at what is a truly nonsensical contract here given that Trent just averaged 8 PPG and shot 39% from the field in 22 minutes per game last season,” Sam Vecenie, Senior Writer at The Athletic, tweeted. “All I ask here is simply “what other player in the past has agreed to sign for the minimum one year, gone on to have his worst season in seven years where he was a below-average player by any standard, and then received 5x as much money in free agency the following year?”

It was Shams Charania who broke the news that Gary Trent Jr. would stay with the Bucks amid his free agency. The report also revealed that Klutch Sports CEO Rich Paul and agent Lucas Newton had been in deep negotiations since mid-June and had even explored a sign-and-trade option before agreeing to the new deal. The issue is past contracts in Milwaukee and recent below-average production, which have led to these calls.

The 27-year-old previously signed a league minimum in the summer of 2024. Then again, it was a two-year, $7.5 million contract that began before last season, but he opted out of his player option. On the hardwood, his average was 8.1 points, the fewest since his rookie season. That’s why the four-year deal has caught everyone’s eye for the wrong reasons.

The Athletic further reported that after the first season with the Bucks, many expected his contract to be closer to $10 million. But the 27-year-old signing a minimum contract for the 2025-26 season was a surprise. Another interesting anecdote is that Trent went from a bench player on a minimum contract to receiving the 10th-largest contract in this summer’s free agency.

Netizens urge an investigation after Gary Trent Jr.’s contract

The contract is also guaranteed for four years. In a market where LeBron James is expected to take a pay cut, and James Harden and Draymond Green are also signing for less, the Bucks’ decision is baffling. Frank Madden, a prominent Milwaukee Bucks analyst, suggested the league could investigate potential cap circumvention.

“As we feared, the Bucks backed themselves into probably the least justified wink-wink deal in history last summer and now get absolutely torched for it. If ever the league was going to investigate a deal for being pre-arranged it would be this one. Horsted by their own petard!”

The sentiment was echoed by fans across social media. “I don’t even understand how this even remotely makes sense based on how he played last year. This has to be a wink-wink deal,” one fan wrote, reflecting the widespread disbelief over the numbers.

Another netizen explained in simpler terms, “He signs for the minimum and less money he could have when the bucks didn’t have his birds rights And now they sign him for this amount when nobody will give him this contract”

NBA cap expert Nate Duncan flagged the Bucks’ contract as likely salary cap circumvention. Trent opted out of his $3.88 million player option before signing the fully guaranteed deal starting at $15.2 million. This allowed the Bucks to use accumulated Bird rights for a larger commitment than his open-market value.

“Gary Trent getting 4/$64 after the year he just had is obvious circumvention and should be punished by the league. This would fall under the provision that there is no possible explanation other than circumvention.”

One similar situation that netizens compared it to was the Timberwolves’ contract for Joe Smith. Smith reportedly signed three consecutive short-term, below-market deals from 1996 to 1999.

This allowed them to retain his Bird rights so they could later re-sign him above the cap to a massive seven-year, $86 million extension. A secret side agreement promised a big payday, violating NBA rules against circumvention. Wolves had to forfeit five first-round draft picks, later reduced to three as a partial reduction.

“Wolves got hit with 5 firsts with Joe smith one in 2000”. Another comment took a dig at the Bucks and expected them to leave no paper trail behind in the Gary Trent Jr. deal. “Guessing the Bucks didn’t make the same mistake the Wolves did with Joe Smith. Doubt there’s a smoking gun here.”

The Smith deal came to light in 2000 after a dispute, and written proof was provided to the court. In fact, the NBA fined $3.5 million, which was a league record at the time. Even Owner Glen Taylor and GM Kevin McHale were effectively sidelined for a year.