In the wake of the deal, Sports Illustrated NBA insider Chris Mannix described it as “the hands down winner for buzziest story the last few days,” noting it “raised a lot of eyebrows” while pointing to his past two Bucks contracts (one year, $2.6M; two years, $7.5M) as possible signs of a previous “wink wink” agreement.
There’s an obvious way to read this: Trent signed a couple of below-market deals that helped keep the Bucks’ books clean during the Damian Lillard/Giannis Antetokounmpo era,” Mannix wrote.” For his service, Milwaukee forked over a $16 million per year contract to a player most teams valued at significantly less. Two rival team sources tell SI they slotted Trent somewhere between the tax midlevel exception ($6 million) and veteran’s minimum ($3.9 million).
Such a potential agreement — Milwaukee paying Trent below-market deals until earning his Bird-rights — raises significant issues, including integrity of the game.
Generally, players in possible contract years (Trent had a 2026-27 player option) want to perform at their best, knowing bigger numbers generally lead to bigger paydays. But if Trent already had a deal on the table from the Bucks based on a prearranged move, why not put up subpar numbers for a team that would only benefit by tanking once it became clear the window around Antetokounmpo had closed?
The deal might also help Milwaukee. While paying Trent $16M doesn’t look good after last season, if he approaches his productivity during his peak years with the Toronto Raptors, it could become valuable.
From 2022-24, his three seasons before joining the Bucks, Trent, 27, averaged 16.4 points, 1.8 assists and 1.5 steals in 31.7 minutes per game while shooting 42.4 percent, including 38.2 percent from beyond the arc. With less opportunity on the court in Milwaukee last season, the Bucks effectively cratered his value. If Trent had a larger role when active, perhaps teams would have considered more substantial offers.
His initial deals, if made with the knowledge that a larger payday from the organization awaited, were also designed to give the Bucks a competitive advantage by fitting him onto a roster with Antetokounmpo and Lillard commanding a large share of the salary cap pie.
The Athletic looked back at the NBA’s handling of a cap circumvention case involving the Minnesota Timberwolves and Joe Smith, which saw the organization docked three first-round picks. Spotrac contributor Kevin Smith noted when the Kawhi Leonard-Aspiration scandal first erupted that the Wolves were also fined $3.5M, Smith’s contract voided and owner Glen Taylor suspended. General manager Kevin McHale took a required leave of absence.