The Milwaukee Bucks have yet to announce that they have signed veteran swingman Gary Trent Jr. in free agency. That radio silence could be having a significant ripple effect on potential reactionary measures from the league office.
However, the Bucks are running out of their current grace period.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver is expected to speak sometime in the next few days. The Bucks’ deal with Trent is expected to come up.
Bucks’ Deal With Gary Trent Jr. Expected to Draw Attention From League
GettyMilwaukee Bucks guard Gary Trent Jr. could be a topic of discussion for NBA Commissioner Adam Silver.
The Bucks signed Trent to a four-year, $64 million. He averaged the second-fewest points per game of his career this past season. However, despite starting fewer games than he did in 2024-25 with the Bucks, Trent started 12 more outings in 2025-26.
According to The Stein Line’s Marc Stein, though, Trent’s deal “generated more noise” than any other headline over the weekend calling it “quite a paradox.”
Stein noted the “profound shock,” even though a big deal had been “whispered about. “
“The deal has not yet been formally announced by the Bucks, which I’m told is among the reasons that the league office has issued no official response to requests for comment on the signing,” Stein wrote on July 14, noting the “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 … signed with them and how he performed in 2025-26.
“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. Silver will almost assuredly be asked about the Trent deal.”
Trent’s previous two deals with the Bucks totaled just over $10 million.
That was supposed to be spread across three seasons. The Bucks declined the $3.8 million club option on Trent’s contract, contributing to the scrutiny around his exorbitant new pact.
Bucks Could Avoid Punishment
GettyThe Milwaukee Bucks may not face any significant punishment from the NBA.
Despite the intense reaction from the basketball world at large, Stein was unsure if the league office would take any action against the Bucks over Trent, whose contract beat projections by “better than $15 million annually” and an additional year.
Stein noted that the Bucks would be hindering themselves.
They have already done with what some describe as a self-imposed ‘third apron’ from waive-and-stretching Damian Lillard.
“It is not yet clear, beyond the howls from the basketball public, where a complaint about Trent’s deal would come from within the actual league,” Stein reported. “If the Bucks have now vastly overpaid Trent, for whatever reason, who among Milwaukee’s rivals will mind?
Gary Trent Jr. Could Be Used for Salary-Matching
GettyGary Trent Jr.’s future remains far from certain, even with his pending Milwaukee Bucks deal.
There are many ways the Bucks could look to utilize Trent, including handing him a larger role with their new-look roster, which features Tyler Herro and Jaime Jaquez at the 2 and 3, respectively, and could add Peyton Watson via a sign-and-trade.
That is where things get interesting, though.
If the Bucks are intent on retaining Trent, the structure of his contract will become a biggest sticking point than the deal itself.
The Bucks could front-load it with hopes that they can get out of it next season with a trade. That only works if Trent bounces back from a 36% shooting season from beyond the arc. That is the second-worst clip of his career.
Flipping him becomes even less likely if the deal is flat or, even worse, backloaded.
Trent originally entered the NBA as the 37th overall pick of the 2018 draft. He was drafted by the Sacramento Kings but began his career with the Portland Trailblazers.
The 6-foot-6 swingman has also played for the Toronto Raptors. He has averaged a 13.0-2.2-1.4 line for his career. He enters 2026-27 having shot 42% from the floor, 38.7% from beyond the arc, and 81.9% at the free throw line.
Trent has earned $62.7 million in so far his career, per Spotrac, with his Bucks deal pending.
Bucks Expected to Hear From Adam Silver Over $64 Million Agreement