The Milwaukee Bucks began the 13-14 season with their sights set on one of the lower seeds in the top-heavy Eastern Conference. The Bucks won two of their first four games, but the bottom quickly fell out. They lost their next 11 thanks to countless injuries, and before long a push towards the playoffs turned into talk of hoarding as many Ping-Pong balls as possible.

Milwaukee has the best shot (25 percent) at earning the first overall pick in next week's NBA Draft Lottery. The Bucks can do no worse than the fourth pick when the draft order is determined on Tuesday in Manhattan. One of the more fan-friendly clubs in the league, the Bucks have gone as far as to send out special Ping Pong balls featuring the team’s logo and the slogan “Own The Future. Win The Lottery.”

Before the focus turned to Andrew Wiggins, Jabari Parker and Joel Embiid, Milwaukee took the necessary steps to fortify a young roster with effective veterans. They missed out on a few targets, mostly notably Jeff Teague, but still sprinkled in experience. The Bucks signed Teague to a four-year offer sheet worth a reported $32 million, but the Atlanta Hawks had three days to match the contract and did.

In need of help and full of open roster spots, the Bucks spent the month of July signing free agents. They added O.J Mayo, Carlos Delfino, Zaza Pachulia and Gary Neal in the hope that they would help John Henson, Larry Sanders and first-round pick Giannis Antetokounmpo mature. Luke Ridnour was also acquired in a three-team with the Minnesota Timberwolves and Oklahoma City Thunder.

More than two weeks after they lost out on Teague, they completed a sign-and-trade with the Detroit Pistons that shipped Brandon Jennings out and brought Brandon Knight, Khris Middleton and Viacheslav Kravtsov back in return. The Bucks flipped Kravtsov, along with Ish Smith, to the Phoenix Suns in exchange for Wisconsin native Caron Butler at the end of the summer.

Jennings essentially gave them Knight, Middleton and Butler, not a bad haul for a player that didn’t fit in Milwaukee. Another ball-dominant guard, Monta Ellis, opted out of his contract to become a free agent and landed with the Dallas Mavericks. The Jennings-Knight trade would eventually put the Bucks in position to alter their season goals.

Working to put together a complete roster became a little more difficult when general manager John Hammond hired David Morway to assist him in early July. Morway, formerly the GM of the Indiana Pacers, came into the fold after the draft and the rest of the front office had already formulated a plan for the offseason. The addition was a good one, but the timing wasn’t ideal.

Then when the season started, injuries and off-court issues began to mount.

Knight injured his hamstring on the first night of the season and missed eight games. Sanders was involved in an altercation at a nightclub on Nov. 3. A thumb injury, reportedly suffered during the club incident, sidelined Sanders for 25 games. Ersan Ilyasova missed six games in November with a left ankle sprain.

Pachulia suffered a right foot fracture on Dec. 4 against the Detroit Pistons and was forced to sit for 28 games. Henson missed seven games around the holidays with a sprained left ankle. O.J, Mayo battled conditioning issues. Sanders suffered a freak eye injury and missed the final 28 games of the season. Carlos Delfino never suited up due to a right foot issue.

Nate Wolters, who was incredibility effective as a second-rounder, broke his hand and missed the final 13 games. Ilyasova underwent surgery on his right ankle in March. An unofficial count had the Bucks losing approximately 260 games due to injury during the 2013-14 season. NBA teams are allowed to carry 15 players, which means on average Milwaukee lost close to 18 games per player.

Even Caron Butler, who signed with the Thunder after being cut loose, missed 18 games while with the Bucks due to knee, ankle and shoulder issues. 

Injuries forced rookies Antetokounmpo and Wolters to play heavy minutes, even starting games. Wolters was supposed to be a fringe rotation player battling for minutes; he ended up playing close to 23 minutes per game. Antetokounmpo, who was 18 when the season began, started 23 games and averaged close to 25 minutes. Instead of learning behind more seasoned players, the Greek Freak received on-the-job training and ended up handling himself fairly well.

Suddenly, Larry Drew went from trying to win games with an eye on April to juggling a roster decimated by injury and full of inexperience. So, the Bucks wisely shifted their vision towards the future. Arguably the five most consistently healthy and available players on the roster, Antetokounmpo, Knight, Middleton, Wolters and Henson, are all under 23.

The quintet played heavy minutes, learning while the losses accumulated.

As difficult as the season was for the Bucks to endure, there is light at the end of the tunnel. They have three high draft picks, their own first and second-rounder, as well as the Los Angeles Lakers’ second round pick, and another conditional late pick. After all payroll obligations and expected rookie contracts, Milwaukee figures to have about $12 million in cap space.

It remains to be seen what effect new ownership will have on the finances. Longtime owner Herb Kohl, who discussed selling the team throughout a good chuck of the season, agreed to sell to Marc Lasry and Wes Edens several weeks ago. It was reported on Monday that the sale “is moving quickly.”

The sale process, including receiving league approval, can be an arduous one. At the time of posting there was speculation that ownership could begin taking over control of the Bucks by the end of the week.

Senator Kohl was never much of a forward-thinker, so the sale bodes well for Milwaukee fans -- as long as the franchise reaches an agreement to remain in the city.

This offseason Hammond and Morway will use cap space and draft picks to build around a core that includes Knight, Antetokounmpo, Middleton, Sanders, Henson and Ilyasova. Ilyasova, who turned just 27 on Thursday, is productive when healthy and owed a modest $24 million over the next three seasons.

After all the jokes that floated around on the Internet about the Bucks, all the talking heads who railed on the club and all the losses, Milwaukee has the chance to be a competitive team next season.

There is no reason not to believe that Sanders will bounce back healthy and focused after a rough all-around season in which he averaged just 7.7 points, 7.2 rebounds and 1.7 blocks. Middleton, Henson and Antetokounmpo will all be a year older. They’ll also have a pretty good rookie.

Since the Bucks can finish no worse than fourth in the draft order, they can rest assured they will land either Wiggins, Parker, Embiid, Dante Exum or Julius Randle. With a free agent class that could be top-heavy if any number of stars opt for the open market, they can then go about adding a talented veteran to augment their young core.

Selling a very good player on Milwaukee isn’t going to be easy, but money is money and someone of at least moderate value will gladly take it. They figure to lean towards a tough, defense-first mentality with a fast-paced offense. Some potential targets that fit that mold include Thabo Sefolosha, Kyle Lowry, Trevor Ariza and P.J. Tucker, the last of which is a restricted free agent. 

It all starts for the Bucks next week in Manhattan when they will find how handsomely they’ll be rewarded for a 15-win season.