Bucks co-Owner Wes Edens "denied any rift within the team's ownership group" and said that no trades "were seriously considered before the February deadline, despite media reports to the contrary," according to Charles Gardner of the MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL. A recent national media report said that Edens, Bucks co-Owner Marc Lasry and team investor Jamie Dinan were "divided over decisions before the trade deadline." Edens in response to the report said, "Nothing whatsoever. It's just complete fiction." The Bucks last season went 41-41 and reached the playoffs as the sixth-seeded team in the Eastern Conference, "making a 26-game leap after a league-worst finish the previous year." When the team signed C Greg Monroe in free agency during the past summer, "expectations grew." However, "nothing went according to plan as the team started slowly and struggled on the road." Edens was "determined not to make hasty decisions at the trade deadline," and he said that the owners "consulted closely" with GM John Hammond and coach Jason Kidd. Gardner noted Kidd's future with the Bucks is "certain to be a topic as he approaches the final year of his contract." Edens said, "We think Jason has done a terrific job. I thought he had real consideration to be coach of the year last year. When the organization and the team don't do as well as you'd like to, people have to look at what could have been done better and what the accountabilities are and make real assessments about that." He added, "Jason has been a big part of our involvement with the Bucks since we became owners, and I expect him to be a big part of our involvement with it going forward" (MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL, 3/6).
