Former Toronto Raptors stud Gary Trent Jr. is at the center of a potentially troublesome NBA investigation, as there seems to be a belief that the Milwaukee Bucks' eye-watering four-year contract handed out to Trent after a poor season was part of a scheme to circumvent the NBA's salary cap rules in past seasons.
According to Brian Windhorst on The Hoop Collective, most around the league expect the Bucks to be found guilty of salary cap circumvention due to the Trent contract. As a result, Windhorst believes there are "going to be draft picks stripped and people suspended indefinitely."
This is now the second former Raptor who could warrant a major suspension for another team, as the Kawhi Leonard scandal has decimated the Los Angeles Clippers' future assets. Trent is now in a situation where his play has been so bad that a team committing to sign him was such a mistake at face value that many believed something nefarious was going on.
Former Toronto Raptors guard Gary Trent Jr. could get Bucks in trouble with NBA
Trent was originally acquired as a 22-year-old former second-round pick midway through his third season. Masai Ujiri was unwilling to give Norman Powell the contract he desired, and he was traded to the Portland Trail Blazers for Trent and Rodney Hood. After Trent was extended, he embarked upon a fairly successful 3.5-season stint north of the border.
Trent averaged 16.4 points per game and nailed 38% of his 3-pointers as a regular starter for a team that desperately needed shooting at the time. Averaging 18.3 points per game on a 2021-22 team that won 48 games and made the playoffs was the highlight of his tenure, though the Raptors would eventually regress by the time free agency hit.
Trent left to contend for a title with Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard in Milwaukee, and that is where things got crazy. Trent signed a one-year minimum deal with the Bucks despite the aforementioned production and the fact that he was only 25 years old. Trent's scoring dipped to 11.1 points per game in 2024.
Gary Trent Jr. has struggled since leaving the Toronto Raptors
Trent agreed to a two-year, $7.5 million deal with Milwaukee in 2025, and he averaged 8.1 points per game that season. Trent opted out of the deal, and he signed a new four-year, $64 million deal despite his production falling off a cliff and the Bucks moving into rebuilding mode.
While there is no smoking gun yet, it seems weird that Milwaukee would give Trent a massive pay raise after two years of working for almost the league minimum when his play declined.
Those willing to believe the Bucks did something untoward will propose the team had a handshake agreement with Trent to accept short-term deals while the team had limited financial flexibility in the dying days of the Giannis era, all while the bigger contract would come later in what amounts to back pay.
To make matters worse, Trent has only played in three games this year, averaging 3.7 points per game along the way. Between this and the Kawhi troubles that the Clippers have had to deal with, it might be better for most teams if they choose not to deal with any former Raptors looking for a big payday.
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