The NBA is reportedly going to investigate the Gary Trent Jr. contract. He inked a four-year, $64 million deal with the Milwaukee Bucks, which is weird considering he has not played well in recent years. It reeks of tampering and collusion. When the Chicago Bulls got penalized for the Lonzo Ball signing, they lost a second-rounder. If that’s all it’d cost for the Bucks to get out of this contract, it would be worth it.
In no world is Trent worth $16 million per season. At this point, based on the way he’s played, he’s barely worth a minimum contract. So, if the NBA does decide to investigate this deal with the Bucks, Milwaukee should quietly be hoping that the league voids the contract.
And if the penalty is anything close to the single second-round pick the Bulls had to forfeit, the punishment wouldn’t be that bad.
Bucks should hope NBA penalizes them like it penalized the Bulls
Back in 2021, when the Bulls decided to sign Ball in free agency, they were eventually penalized a second-round pick. They had to forfeit the selection because they were found guilty of tampering.
Though the Ball era in Chicago didn’t end up leading to anything other than a single playoff appearance, he played well when he was healthy. The second-round pick was worth bringing him on board (at least, when he was on the floor).
Second-round picks are valuable in today’s NBA, but getting a quality player could make the penalty worth it. And for a brief period of time, the penalty of a second-round pick was worth it to get Ball.
In the Bucks’ case, it wouldn’t be about keeping a player, but rather losing one. Because Milwaukee absolutely should not want to keep Trent on its books for that price. It’s just not worth it.
Trent was rough last year. He didn’t shoot the ball well, and his on-court impact just wasn’t there. So, this contract seems like one that he and the Bucks probably agreed on years ago in an attempt to circumvent the cap.
He would sign a few minimum deals with a handshake agreement to sign for more when the Bucks had enough money to pay him properly. Unfortunately, Trent’s play fell off, so now, the contract seems like a blatant case of tampering.
The NBA is now investigating the situation. If the league decides to void the contract and penalize the Bucks, it could actually be better for Milwaukee, because it wouldn’t have to pay Trent.
And if the price for that is just a second-round pick, it would honestly be worth it for the Bucks. Just like – even for a brief moment – it was worth it for the Bulls.
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