'Profound shock' is NBA's reaction to Bucks' unexpected $64 million free agent signing

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'Profound shock' is NBA's reaction to Bucks' unexpected $64 million free agent signing originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

Gary Trent averaged 8.1 points per game last season while shooting 38.7% from the floor.

The Milwaukee Bucks just signed him to a four-year, $64 million contract.

Sounds like an overpay? That's because it is.

NBA insider Marc Stein is reporting that there's "profound shock" across the league at the contract signed by Trent.

"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," writes Luke Adams of Hoops Rumors.

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The suggestion has been that the Bucks already had these contract plans in place well in advance. It would essentially be a situation where Milwaukee would tell Trent it couldn't pay him full value now but would make up for it later.

That's not actually allowed, and there's no specific evidence that it happened.

But if it didn't, it's hard to justify Trent's contract.

He's still 27 years old, so maybe the Bucks are thinking that his 2025-26 season was a blip on the radar and that he'll be better going forward.

Still, they definitely weren't in a bidding war with another team that would've brought them up to $16 million per year for Trent.

It seems like it should've been much cheaper for Milwaukee to keep Trent around, which is where the total surprise comes from.

Trent could always prove it to be a smart signing, but based on last season, that doesn't seem entirely likely.

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