NBA Salary Investigations
NBA investigates Bucks' Gary Trent Jr. signing for potential prior agreement, also probing Clippers' Kawhi Leonard deal.
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The NBA is investigating how the Milwaukee Bucks signed guard Gary Trent Jr. to a four-year, $64 million deal, according to Daily Gazette. An NBA spokesman confirmed the league is "continuing to look into" the circumstances of the signing, which became official Thursday.
The concern is whether the Bucks made a secret promise to Trent before he signed two straight below-market deals. If true, that would break the NBA's salary cap rules — rules designed to keep teams from hiding money owed to players, according to Beaumont Enterprise.
Trent's Stats Dropped, But His Payday Didn't
Trent had a down year before landing the big contract. His scoring and overall production fell significantly last season. Still, the Bucks handed him $64 million over four years. That gap between performance and pay is part of what caught the league's attention, according to Beaumont Enterprise.
The NBA wants to know if Milwaukee quietly agreed to reward Trent later — in exchange for him taking less money in earlier deals. That kind of under-the-table promise is called a "side agreement." The NBA bans them because they hide the true cost of a player from official salary records, according to WFMZ.
Two Below-Market Deals Raise Red Flags for League
The NBA is specifically looking at the two seasons before Trent signed with Milwaukee. He reportedly took less money than he could have gotten on the open market in both of those years. That pattern is what triggered the league's review, according to The Hour.
Under NBA rules, teams cannot promise future payments to get a player to accept a smaller deal now. If investigators find proof of such a deal, the Bucks could face serious penalties. Those could include fines, lost draft picks, or changes to the contract itself, according to HJ News.
Bucks Investigation Comes Amid Clippers Cap Probe
The Bucks are not the only team under the microscope. The NBA is also investigating the Los Angeles Clippers over a $28 million endorsement deal. The deal was between star forward Kawhi Leonard and a California company called Aspiration Fund Adviser LLC, according to WFMZ.
The league wants to know if the Clippers helped arrange that endorsement deal as a way to pay Leonard extra — outside the salary cap. That would be another form of a hidden payment, which the NBA strictly prohibits, according to Beaumont Enterprise.
What Happens Next for the Bucks and Trent
The NBA has not said when its investigation will wrap up. The Bucks have not publicly commented on the probe. Trent's $64 million deal is currently in place, but it could be reviewed or altered if the league finds a violation, according to Daily Gazette.
Cap circumvention cases can take months to resolve. The NBA has a history of voiding contracts or stripping draft picks when teams break these rules. Both Milwaukee and the league office have stayed quiet about the details of the ongoing inquiry, according to The Hour.
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