Gary Trent Jr.’s free-agency situation has turned into one of the stranger Bucks storylines of the offseason.
Milwaukee fans expected Trent to be gone once the season ended, but that’s not how this has played out. He’s still unsigned, and there’s now a real possibility he winds up back with the Bucks after all.
NBA insider Jake Fischer addressed the buzz on a Bleacher Report livestream, saying, "There's been a lot of talk behind the scenes of [Gary Trent Jr.] sticking around in Milwaukee. Kind of waiting to see what that outcome is."
If that happens, it would be a head-scratcher on the surface. The Bucks already have a crowded backcourt after the Caris LeVert trade, and the guard rotation is supposed to include young players like Kasparas Jakucionis, Ryan Rollins, Brayden Burries, and Kevin Porter Jr. Those guys need room to play, not another veteran cutting into the minutes.
Trent’s 2025-26 season also doesn’t make the idea any easier to explain. He averaged just 8.1 points and shot 38.7 percent from the field, making it one of the least productive seasons of his career. That’s the version of Trent Milwaukee might be ready to bring back, and possibly reward with a raise?
Still, there is a path here that makes some sense for the Bucks. If Trent returns, he could get a shot to bounce back and, at the same time, become a trade chip. Teams value his perimeter shooting and disruptive defense, and if he starts next season well, Milwaukee could move him before the NBA Trade Deadline to help clear the logjam in the backcourt.
One rough season doesn’t erase what he’s shown before. Just over a year ago, Trent averaged 18.8 points and 2.6 steals in the NBA Playoffs, so the talent is still there. The issue is fit, money, and timing - especially for a Bucks team that already has enough guards and is trying to sort out its next phase in the Giannis Antetokounmpo-less era.
For now, nothing is official. But Fischer’s reporting makes it sound like the Bucks and Trent are moving toward some kind of resolution.
In Other News...
Bucks May Already Have A Kuminga Backup Plan In Place
The Bucks are still weighing their offseason options on the wing, and Jonathan Kuminga remains one of the more intriguing names on their radar. Milwaukee likes the idea of adding a forward with his athletic upside, but the front office is also keeping an eye on a different path that could give the roster some of the same long-term benefits without the same level of cost or uncertainty.
Nate Ament has emerged as that alternative, a younger forward whose college season flashed enough promise to make him look like more than a fallback. If Milwaukee ends up with both players, the fit could be even more interesting, with Ament developing alongside Kuminga and eventually learning from him in a rotation that could give the Bucks a lot of size and versatility on the perimeter. [Read more 🡒]
Former Bucks Wing Just Took A Turn Milwaukee Fans Saw Coming
Amir Coffeys time in Milwaukee never really got off the ground, and the Bucks moved on quickly after a brief look at what he could offer on the wing. He appeared in 30 games for the team, played a limited role, and was eventually shipped to Phoenix as Milwaukee kept reshaping the back end of its roster.
Coffeys next stop says plenty about how his market has shifted since then, and it also underscores how far the Bucks have come in addressing that part of the roster. Milwaukee has added more options on the wing through other moves, so the departure of a player who never found much traction here no longer looks like much of a hole. [Read more 🡒]
Bucks Just Revealed What Finally Pushed The Giannis Trade Through
The Bucks Giannis Antetokounmpo deal with Miami was never just about one headline name coming back. General manager Jon Horst said the package that brought Tyler Herro, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Kelel Ware and Kasparas Jakucionis to Milwaukee was intentional, and that all four players were part of what made the trade work. For a Bucks team retooling around a franchise-altering move, that kind of insistence matters, because it shows the front office did not see this as a simple star swap but as a broader attempt to restock the roster with pieces that fit different timelines.
Jakucionis, in particular, drew Horsts praise as a competitive, hard-working young guard with real point guard traits and shooting ability. That kind of language usually says as much about how a team views its future backcourt as it does about one players immediate role, and it hints at why Milwaukee was willing to hold firm in negotiations. The Bucks still have plenty to sort out after landing Giannis replacement era on paper, but the way Horst framed the return suggests the front office believes there is more here than just a collection of names. [Read more 🡒]