An NBA spokesman confirmed the league was investigating Bucks‘ four-year, $64 million deal Gary Trent Jr continues, but refused to answer additional questions, writes Joe Vardon of The Athletic. However, Vardon hears that both the Bucks and Clutch Sports Group (Trent’s agency) are working with the NBA.
The law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz is usually chosen by the league to conduct an independent investigation into such matters, but this summer Wachtell was already at the center of another limit-busting investigation, finally wrapped up annual clippers investigation and Kawhi Leonard earlier this month. So, according to Vardan, the NBA commissioned national investigative law firm Hecker Fink to look into Trent’s deal with Milwaukee.
In July, shortly after Trent officially re-signed with the Bucks, it was announced that the N.B.A considered a contract with a full guaranteewhich turned out to be well above market value for a player coming off a down year in which he averaged 8.1 points, 1.2 assists and 1.0 rebounds per game on 38.7% shooting.
Trent signed a veteran-minimum contract with the Bucks in 2024, then agreed to a small raise to $3.7 million after Right non-Bird in 2025 after a productive first season with the team. A lucrative new deal this summer prompted speculation that the veteran wing agreed to the first of two friendly deals with the promise that Milwaukee would reward him once the club could offer more money using him Early Bird Rights.
According to Vardan, rival executives believe the fact that an agreement was not reached before July 11, when there was insufficient league space and roster space, was one of the reasons the deal caught the NBA’s attention. Had the Bucks reached a similar deal in June or early July, it still would have been subject to criticism, but may have simply been viewed as a misinterpretation of the market, these executives suggested to The Athletic.
For what it’s worth, the Bucks have told opposing teams they believe Trent’s new deal is commensurate with his value, and that they always believed he would be a player worth roughly $15 million a year on the open market, even though he took less in his first two seasons in Milwaukee, Vardon wrote.
The NBA came down hard on the Clippers for violating the limit-busting rules, revoking five first-round picks, fining the team $30 million and suspending several top executives, including the owner Steve Ballmer. This case, in which the Clippers allegedly arranged no-show deals for Leonard, is different from the Trent situation, but the Bucks could face just as severe punishment if Hecker Fink finds evidence they skirted the limit, Vardon says.
A logical point of comparison would be the Timberwolves’ illegal deal with Joe Smith in 1999, leading to Smith’s contract being voided and the franchise losing five first-round picks (two were later returned). A legal battle between two of Smith’s agents led to a secret team-player deal revealed in discovery — the forward agreed to a one-year, below-market deal until the Wolves had control of him Bird rights and can offer him a lucrative long-term contract.
There is no word yet on when the investigation into the Trent deal will be completed.