The Bucks’ new deal for Gary Trent has lit up the league for all the wrong reasons.
Milwaukee handed Trent a four-year, $64 million contract after a season in which he averaged 8.1 points per game and shot 38.7% from the floor. On paper, that kind of money looks steep. Around the NBA, it’s being treated that way too.
NBA insider Marc Stein is reporting that there is “profound shock” across the league over the contract. Luke Adams of Hoops Rumors added, “As Stein points out, even if opposing executives around the league suspect the Bucks and Trent had a handshake deal in place a year ago, it’s unclear whether any other teams would actually complain to the league about a rival significantly overpaying a free agent,”
That’s where the speculation starts: some around the league believe Milwaukee may have lined up these contract plans long before now. In that version of events, the Bucks would have told Trent they couldn’t pay him full value immediately, with the idea of making it up later.
But that kind of arrangement isn’t allowed, and there’s no specific evidence that it happened.
If it didn’t, the price tag is tough to defend.
Trent is still only 27, so Milwaukee may be banking on last season being an outlier and expecting better production ahead. Even so, the Bucks were not in a bidding war that forced them to climb to $16 million per year.
The bigger surprise is how much it apparently took for Milwaukee to keep him. And while Trent could still make the contract look smart, last season doesn’t exactly point in that direction.
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