So, Marc Lasry's looking to sell his share of the Milwaukee Bucks?

Explaining why the latest news that the Milwaukee Bucks may undergo changes within their ownership is a big deal

I’m coming out of blogger retirement to react to what is surely the biggest news surrounding the Milwaukee Bucks, and pretending that the abysmal overtime loss to the Chicago Bulls didn’t happen!

Fellow Substacker Marc Stein broke the news Wednesday morning that Bucks co-owner Marc Lasry has been '“actively looking to sell his stake in the franchise.” There has been plenty of smoke to this fire in the last few weeks and months. NBA insiders such as Adrian Wojnarowski and Bill Simmons have anecdotally passed on that Lasry has been looking to offload his share of the team.

Per Simmons and Woj, Lasry had been in talks with Mat Ishbia to buy his stake in the Bucks before Ishbia eventually agreed to become the new owner of the Phoenix Suns, which is pending league approval (Sidenote: Ishbia was also a donor to Alex Lasry’s ill-fated senatorial campaign during this last election cycle).

https://open.spotify.com/episode/3ATnYCe6CLyT5p4PvHUZrH?si=v9BNu3bxSuu74wBuFaxFpA

Now, Stein has fanned those flames by laying out all of the facts and details, and the microscope now focuses in on what looks to be a fluid situation within the Bucks’ ownership group. I’m sure Bucks fans have a few questions about what this could mean for the franchise moving forward. Let’s dive in.

So are the Bucks being sold?

Good question. No, they are not, at least in a general sense.

Stein noted that an “emerging" possibility is Lasry selling his share of the Bucks to fellow co-owner Wes Edens, and thus making Edens’ stake in the Bucks that much stronger. Lasry and Edens, along with Jamie Dinan, emerged as the changing of the guard more than eight years ago when former senator Herb Kohl decided to sell the Bucks after nearly three decades of owning the franchise.

The LED ownership group, later joined by Mike Fascitelli (to make it FLED or DELF), has overseen this current golden era of Bucks basketball, and have made a considerable investment in trying to chase for a second championship after winning the 2020-21 NBA title. Lasry, Edens and Dinan originally purchased the Bucks for $550 million in 2014 and the current Forbes valuation puts the Bucks at $2.3 billion. Even as Lasry is actively shopping his stake in the team, the Bucks still remain in firm hands beyond him.

Why is Lasry deciding now is a good time to sell his share of the Bucks?

Well, that’s an even better question. Lasry is by no means young, in a general sense, but he hasn’t even reached a decade into his title as an NBA owner. And it’s certainly not everyday you see someone putting their ownership stake up for sale.

However, NBA teams are being sold for more money than ever before, as evidenced by Ishbia’s recent purchase of the Suns that topped $4 billion. Another example was the Minnesota Timberwolves being sold for $1.5 billion in the spring of 2021. There has been plenty of speculation over the current ownership arrangement and looming sale of the Portland Trail Blazers, which is tied through a trust fund following the death of Paul Allen. And more teams could very well follow.

Those sales numbers will only rise higher and higher as two things happen for the league. The first is the new media rights deal that hangs over the league and will continue to be a source of speculation until that’s settled (For frame of reference, the league’s last media rights deal went for $24 billion in 2014.)

The second biggest thing looming over the league, and which continues to percolate, is expansion. It’s not a matter of if anymore regarding whether the NBA will be expanding after going on 20 years since they last added a team to the league. Stein even noted that NBA commissioner Adam Silver recently remarked that expansion will become an even more real topic of conversation after the NBA sets their next CBA with the players and takes care of their next media rights deal.

With all of that in mind, Lasry has clearly looked at the situation, surveyed his options and is deciding that getting out now is better than it will ever be. He’s already recouped his investment in the Bucks, and has experienced the greatest thrills that come with owning an NBA team. And he, along with Edens, Dinan and Fascitelli, have proven that NBA teams can survive and thrive no matter how big or small their market is. And there is nothing preventing Lasry from getting back in the ring elsewhere, if he so chooses.

What’s obviously different in this situation is selling a stake in a team within an ownership that looks to be quite settled otherwise and how that will make the sale price look far lower than the outright sale of an entire franchise. Where that number comes in will be interesting to follow depending on who Lasry can fetch for his share.

Does this mean I can buy a share in the Bucks?

Get in line, pal. I made plenty of investments in Crypto after watching all of those Super Bowl commercials earlier this year and I’m waiting to see that jackpot roll in.

(puts fingers to imaginary earpiece) Oh, you mean I’m financially ruined? Be right back. Starting a go fund me page instead.

Is Aaron Rodgers going to be the next primary owner of the Bucks?

If it means that Jordan Love will be the starting quarterback for the Green Bay Packers next season, I will allow it.

How will this change the Bucks’ long-term future?

We won’t know the answer to this question today, tomorrow or even for the rest of the season. But no matter what happens, things will change over time and certainly the timing of this development makes it that much interesting. And reading between the lines, it’s very clear that Lasry is trying to up the number on his stake of the team by putting this out in the public, whether directly or indirectly.

The foundation of the team has been rock solid, led by the likes of Giannis Antetokounmpo, Khris Middleton, Jon Horst, Mike Budenholzer, Jrue Holiday, Brook Lopez and plenty more. It’s a roster that will sit firmly in the luxury tax for the foreseeable future and anyone coming in and replacing Lasry will have be on the hook to pony up in order to maintain the championship-caliber roster they have assembled in recent years.

The moment that changes, and not to sound very alarmist, big, monumental changes will surely follow. For now, maintaining the status quo will be essential, so as long as the Bucks remain in the hunt for titles year in and year out.

Does this mean Marc Lasry has retired from the NBA All-Star Celebrity Game?

I am afraid it may, dear reader.

Does this mean the Bucks will be moving?

I wouldn’t blame any Bucks fan, old and new, to wonder if this means something far more sinister for the team’s future in Milwaukee. But unlike any other time the Bucks have been up for sale throughout their 55-year history, their future in Milwaukee is more settled than it ever has before. Their lease for Fiserv Forum runs until 2046 and the overwhelming success of the surrounding Deer District will keep the money rolling in. Whether it’s Bucks season or not. And it will be a long time until Bucks fans ever have to wonder about the team’s long-term existence, thankfully.

There will surely be more details on the Lasry front as the sale of his ownership stake will be a dominating storyline all season long. And we’ll be tuned into all of the major developments, whether through the GSPN Substack or through any of our GSPN Bucks podcasts such as the Gyro Step and Win in 6. Thanks for reading!