Injured Michael Redd might well be done with the Milwaukee Bucks
Michael Redd believes his time with the Milwaukee Bucks is finally over. His $91 million, six-year contract that he signed back in 2005 will expire this season, but Redd still believes that his professional career has some gas left.
After missing the majority of the last three seasons due to two severe knee injuries, he returned to the Bucks lineup but was used sparingly by Coach Scott Skiles. For good reason; Redd admits he hasn’t recovered fully and his body still cannot find
the rhythm that he desires.
“I could be out there playing… it's hard to find your rhythm," Redd said. "And I got thrown into it. It's a difficult situation because I didn't want to disrupt the chemistry of the team, try to push my own agenda and trying to shoot shots.”
The 6-6 guard tore ligaments in his left knee twice, once in January 2009 and then again in January 2010. His playing time had been limited to just 60 games these past three seasons due to the multiple injuries.
He had a breakout season in 2006-07, where he shot 46.5 percent and averaged 26.7 points per game in the regular season. Since then, his numbers have dwindled astronomically. In the combined 29 games he played in the last two seasons, he had averaged
a measly 7.8 points on 36 percent shooting from the floor.
Redd still believes he can recover from the setback and return to his all-Star form if he works on getting back in shape. It seemed like Milwaukee’s shooting guard wanted to move on to newer challenges, and newer pastures.
“Absolutely,” Redd said, “having a training camp - which is so important, you need training camp and a preseason. So I'll be involved in that next year, wherever I'm at.”
After being picked in the second round by Milwaukee in the 2000 NBA draft and donning the Green and Red jersey, Redd had blossomed into one of the main scoring options for Milwaukee before injuries ravaged his good run with the team.
It is expected the Bucks will not re-sign him, and he will be looking to find a home someplace else.
Redd received applause from the crowd during the pre-game shoot-around against the Toronto Raptors on Monday, and also had the crowd cheering when he played in the fourth quarter.
He termed his stay in Milwaukee as ‘glorious’ and said he wouldn’t trade the experience for anything else.
“It's been an amazing journey. He said, "Some ups, some downs. But through it all, the fans have been great, the organization's been great to my family and it's pretty awesome.”
According to teammate Drew Gooden, Redd has had a long, successful and somewhat unexpected stay in Milwaukee. He was amazed at the left-handed guard’s long stint with the Bucks. In his opinion, it is unheard-of to have an NBA second-round pick stick
with an organization for so long, and termed it a huge accomplishment for Redd.
Meanwhile, Redd was appreciative of Bucks’ Owner Senator Herb Kohl and his unwavering support to him and the team. He said that while Kohl had numerous opportunities to trade him away, he did not do so and stuck with his team and his players till the
end.
Coach Skiles wished Redd the best of luck and commended his work-ethic, but stopped short of guaranteeing him a ceremonial starting spot in Wednesday’s finale against the Oklahoma City Thunder. “We’re going to try to win the game,” he said.
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