NBA Rumors: Milwaukee Bucks inching closer to relocation to Seattle, Las Vegas

The Milwaukee Bucks just got new uniforms, a top free agent and could be calling a new city home in the near future.

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When the Milwaukee Bucks were going after Greg Monroe this summer and surprising everyone by signing him, little did we know there were alterior motives at play at higher levels in the NBA. Milwaukee was, through really no fault of their own, distracting us all with dope new uniforms and shiny free agent additions while behind the scenes the powers that be were using it all as a case against having to keep the Bucks in Milwaukee.

Once again, the power of the almighty dollar and the allure of a new stadium is putting a historic franchise on the brink of being forcibly relocated.

The BMO Harris Center isn’t up to snuff enough for the NBA and they want a new area built if fans expect the Bucks to stay in Milwaukee. The new-look Bucks want a new stadium to try and bring an NBA title home to, but the public’s refusal to pay for it has the NBA threatening to take the team away.

According to Mark Kass of the Milwaukee Business Journal, the threat is serious that the team could relocate to Seattle or Las Vegas is the public doesn’t chip in $250 million for a new stadium. In what could be misconstrued as a threat from ownership, the Bucks are pleading with the public to get a new stadium deal done soon or the team will be moved.

"The window is closing…We can’t wait months, even weeks to start the public process. […] The NBA does not want the Bucks to extend the lease in an inadequate facility. […] This is about building a winner and building a brand and a product…It is similar to what the (Milwaukee) Brewers and (Green Bay) Packers have done."

This was a sticking point with fans who were skeptical of new ownership when they took over the team in 2013-14. At the time, Wes Edens, Marc Lasry and Jamie Dinan all pledged to keep the team in Milwaukee and weren’t going to relocate them.

There’s an provision in the owner’s agreement that states if a new arena for the Bucks isn’t started in 2015, the NBA would buy the team back for a $25 million profit and move them to Seattle or Las Vegas.

"If that does not occur, he said the NBA will buy back the team for a $25 million profit and move them to “Las Vegas or Seattle.”"

To their credit, the ownership in Milwaukee has done their best to make sure they can keep the team where it currently is. That might not be possible though, as the same bully tactics that saw the Seattle Sonics moved to Oklahoma City could be used here to force the Bucks out of Milwaukee.

The Bucks moving to Seattle would alleviate the pain that Sonics fans felt when their team moved to Oklahoma City, but it would come at the expense of a fan base in an eerily similar situation.

Either way, the Bucks moving to with Las Vegas or Seattle in the near future is something we’re going to start hearing a lot about if the city doesn’t fork over the $250 million needed for a new stadium.

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