Lasry’s decision to sell his share of Bucks shouldn’t affect team for now
A new era of Milwaukee Bucks basketball may begin soon as co-owner and current team governor Marc Lasry has agreed to sell his share of the franchise to Jimmy and Dee Haslam of Haslam Sports Group.
Before a formal change of ownership stake occurs, there is a process to go through that could take weeks or months. But the Bucks' season marches on – including Tuesday night's game at Brooklyn, Milwaukee has 22 games remaining before the playoffs begin.
Will the impending transfer of ownership affect the Bucks this season?
No, according to a source familiar with the club's financial abilities.
General manager Jon Horst will be able to sign a bought-out free agent by the March 1 deadline for playoff-eligible acquisitions or convert Meyers Leonard or two-way players AJ Green or Sandro Mamukelashvili to full contracts.
But the team is pretty much set as it is – it's what's ahead that matters most from an ownership perspective.
Will the Haslams be paying any player salaries this season?
Maybe. If the ownership transfer occurs before the end of the league's awards season, Jimmy Haslam could be on the hook for his part of this season's luxury tax bill.
According to a league source familiar with the Bucks' salary cap, they have the third-highest payroll ($178.1 million) in the NBA. The Bucks' estimated tax bill will be anywhere from $72 million to $103 million, depending on if Jrue Holiday and Grayson Allen reach all their bonuses.
What is the future of this Bucks team?
This is a pivotal summer for the franchise as several major personnel decisions must be made. The Bucks have only eight players under contract for 2023-24, though Khris Middleton and Jevon Carter have player options.
But the core four of Giannis Antetokounmpo, Holiday, Brook Lopez and Middleton are all coming up on key moments in their contracts that will be a big part of the offseason discourse.
BROOK LOPEZ
Contract situation: Free agent The Bucks' center, who turns 35 on April 1, will be an unrestricted free agent.
Lopez is having his most productive year – on both ends of the floor – in seven seasons and said after eclipsing the 15,000-point plateau that retirement is not on his mind. A league source familiar with the marketplace felt that Lopez could command $17 million per season, on the high end.
“I don't feel like I'm close to done,” Lopez said in early February. “I have a long way to still go, a long time to still play. I'm just enjoying it. And I want to keep getting better, keep being an effective player out there, being the best player I can be. And I'm lucky that I have people out there that are trying to help me, trying to make me better and put me in that position.”
KHRIS MIDDLETON
Contract situation: Player option By the end of June, the three-time all-star will have to decide whether to pick up his $40.4 million player option for next season or opt out and test free agency. He turns 32 in August, and what the Bucks and Middleton elect to do is the biggest decision of the summer for many reasons.
Financially speaking, if Middleton returns the team will most likely head into the luxury tax for the fourth straight season and trigger the repeater tax penalty – a fact all parties of ownership (and potential ownership) are aware of. That means the league will penalize the Bucks with an additional dollar tacked onto every dollar spent over the cap.
All of ownership will have to be on board with paying such a price, not just for 2023-24, but beyond.
Middleton has played 19 games this season after missing 21 games due to offseason left wrist surgery and another 20 due to right knee soreness. He missed the end of last year after spraining his left knee in the first round of the playoffs.
He told the Journal Sentinel before the season that he would like to remain in Milwaukee.
“I think everybody knows that,” he said. “Even though I know you're really not supposed to say it for all the reasons out there, but I think everybody knows deep down that I want to stay. But also, you know it's a business. Things change, things happen. You just never know. For sure I would love to stay.”
JRUE HOLIDAY
Contract situation: Two years remaining, including a player option
The Bucks point guard, who will turn 33 in June, is under contract for $34.9 million for next season and has a $37.4 million player option for 2024-25.
He likely will seek clarity on his future with the organization when he's eligible for an extension in July.
Holiday was an all-star this season for the first time since 2012-13 and is once again a candidate for his third straight all-defensive team mention as well as his first all-NBA team honor.
GIANNIS ANTETOKOUNMPO
Contract situation: Three years remaining, including a player option
When the Bucks star was deciding whether to sign a “supermax” extension to remain in Milwaukee in 2020, ESPN reported Lasry met personally with Antetokounmpo to discuss not just the contract but team construct as well. According to the report, Lasry and coowner Wes Edens promised Antetokounmpo that Horst would be able to make a move to acquire a third star (Holiday) and that they would pay the subsequent luxury tax bills that would come with such a move.
How the new ownership dynamic fosters its relationship with Antetokounmpo – and how the club manages its tax situation in the near-term – will go a long way in determining how the two-time most valuable player views his long-term outlook of the franchise.
Antetokounmpo, 28, is eligible for an extension later this summer.