According to ESPN’s Shams Charania, the National Basketball Association is set to launch an investigation into Gary Trent Jr. and the Milwaukee Bucks regarding the new agreement between the two sides on the four-year, $64 million contract.
The NBA has confirmed they’ll be “continuing to look into” the contract and if anything shady occurred behind closed doors. They view this as possible salary cap circumvention, plus their collective bargaining agreement contains a clause against “prior agreement.”
Trent’s $64 million deal follows two successive seasons playing for Milwaukee at the veteran’s minimum.
The last time the NBA stepped in, investigated, and handed out punishments for this type of alleged behavior was back in 2000 with the Minnesota Timberwolves and Joe Smith. The league proved that both sides signed a written, illegal secret agreement that promised Smith a multi-year, multi-million-dollar contract extension after he had played three seasons on minimum contracts for the organization.
The punishments handed out were penalties and voided a contract; if Trent Jr. and Milwaukee were to be found guilty, then they would most definitely receive some of the same treatment. The extent of the punishment is unknown, as investigation is still pending, but many speculate it would follow the same rules as the Joe Smith situation 26 years ago.
The 27-year-old opted out of his player option to become a free agent this offseason and is set to earn $15.2 million this upcoming regular season.
