The Milwaukee Bucks are reportedly signing veteran guard Gary Trent Jr. to a four-year, $64 million deal, per ESPN’s Shams Charania.
Trent had a player option on his previous two-year deal with the Bucks, but opted to decline it to become a free agent. He now returns to Milwaukee, where he has spent the last two seasons.
Charania reported that Trent had interest from several teams, and his camp was working through potential sign-and-trade deals with other teams before he opted to return to the Bucks.
The ESPN analyst also pointed out that Milwaukee owned his Bird rights because he had signed back-to-back deals with the team. Trent signed a league-minimum deal with Milwaukee in the summer of 2024, then signed a two-year, $7.5 million deal ahead of last season that included a player option for next year.
The veteran guard played in 65 games for Milwaukee last season, starting 21 of them. He averaged 8.1 points, 1.0 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 21.2 minutes per game. Trent shot 41% last season, including 39% from beyond the arc.
Trent’s return to the team creates a logjam at guard. Milwaukee had already traded for both Tyler Herro and Caris LeVert this offseason. The Bucks also brought back Ryan Rollins and Kevin Porter Jr. from last season. Milwaukee then continued to add at the position, selecting Brayden Burries with the 10th overall pick in this year’s draft.
Trent’s contract is a little surprising given how much he is receiving. ESPN’s Bobby Marks reported that he will be earning $15.2 million in his first year.
Given the contract Trent signed and his reported salary in Year 1, he projects to be the fourth-highest-paid player for Milwaukee next season and, barring a large shift in his role, would largely be a depth piece.
So far this offseason, Trent has signed the eighth-largest contract among free agents. According to CBS’ Sam Quinn, “Only Trae Young, Austin Reaves, Walker Kessler, Ayo Dosunmu, Tari Eason, Isaiah Hartenstein and Coby White got more.”
The contract has many skeptics on social media, including The Athletic’s Sam Vecenie, who said, “The NBA should probably take a look at what is a truly nonsensical contract here given that Trent just averaged 8 PPG and shot 39% from the field in 22 minutes per game last season.”
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