NBA to finalize sale of Bucks for $550 million on Thursday

Former Bucks owner Herb Kohl (center) with current owners Wesley Edens and Marc Lasry, hedge fund billionaires who bought the team for $550 million. (Gary Dineen/Getty Images)

The NBA is expected to finalize the sale of the Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday at a price of $550 million to hedge fund billionaires Wesley Edens and Marc Lasry, according to a report on Wednesday from Brian Windhorst of ESPN. 

The sale was given preliminary approval by the Board of Governors in April but an extra vetting step was taken to investigate the owners in light of the Donald Sterling saga currently unfolding in Los Angeles. Now that the additional examination is complete, Edens and Lasry are expected to take control of the team before the NBA Draft Lottery on May 20, according to the report. This draft is particularly important for the franchise as it holds the highest percentage -- 25 percent -- of any team in terms of winning the lottery. Milwaukee finished last season with a league-worst 15-67 record.

The two owners will contribute $100 million toward the construction of a new stadium in downtown Milwaukee, with former owner Herb Kohl pledging another $100 million toward the project. As part of the contract Edens and Lasry signed when they purchased the team, the NBA can buy back the Bucks for $575 million if plans for a new stadium are not finalized by 2017, when the Bucks' current lease is up. The unique provision in the contract allows the NBA and its former owner, Kohl, to ensure that the team remains in Milwaukee.

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