The end of the season was a welcome site for the Bucks.
When you had Playoff dreams after spending a healthy chunk of change in the offseason and only getting 15 wins out of it. Of course, that got them the top lottery odds and a 25 percent chance at winning the top overall pick in this loaded draft. That might be worth it.
The Bucks were in a precarious position all year with the upcoming expiration of their lease at BMO Harris Bradley Center and questions about team ownership. The Bucks’ long-running future in Milwaukee was in question, particularly considering how far the team fell off.
One of those questions was answered earlier this week. Owner Herb Kohl sold the Bucks to investment bankers Marc Lasry and Wesley Edens for $550 million. That sale came with some major news on the arena front too. Lasry and Edens already pledged to give $100 million toward a new arena in Milwaukee. Kohl also committed $100 million to the new arena. And the sale came with the condition that the new owners keep the team in Milwaukee.
That is very welcome news to the fan base that saw Oscar Robertson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar win a championship in the 1970s. The Bucks have good fans, they just do not have the facility or the team worth cheering for.
The rebuild of the organization will have to come in time now though.
And the city of Milwaukee and the county of Milwaukee will have to contribute somewhere near $225 million for the rest of the arena and secure the Bucks’ future in Wisconsin.
Step one with secure ownership is now complete.
