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Saturday, July 09, 2005
Sayson: Seeing Redd: $90 million worth
By Homer Sayson
Second Overtime
CHICAGO – When he joined the Milwaukee Bucks five seasons ago, his rookie salary was a mere $465,850, which of course is loose change in a league where the average salary per player is currently pegged at $3.7 million a year.
But there was nothing to complain. After all, he was an earth low 43rd pick in the second round of the 2000 NBA draft, and his school, Ohio State, isn’t exactly an NBA talent mill like NCAA Division I heavyweights Duke University, North Carolina, U-Conn or Georgetown.
His rookie year was a disaster. He barely had as much playing time as the team bus driver (5.8 minutes a game) and his scoring average, 2.2 points per, sounded good only if it were a college grade, not an NBA shooting guard’s stats.
On top of that, he missed 66 games due to left ankle tendinitis.
As far as the 6-foot-6, 214-pound guard was concerned, the basketball gods have been especially cruel. It felt as though his guardian angel was hovering above him with two broken wings.
But Michael Redd had invested everything he had to be in the NBA. He was too tired to give up. And so Michael did the only thing he knew. He played basketball, and he played it with passion, with dedication, and with the unflappable will to succeed.
Aided by his silky smooth jumpshot, he roared back with a vengeance in the 2001 season, upping his scoring to 11.4 points per. One year later, his output soared to 15.1 points before going further up to 21.7 in 2003.
And finally last season, the 25-year-old from Columbus, Ohio normed 23 points, 4.2 rebounds and 2.3 assists, earning him a rightful place in last February’s All-Star Game.
In his five years with the Bucks, Redd has averaged 17.7 points per in 312 games. He shot a remarkable 45.2 percent from the field (2,012-of-4,456) and 39.4 percent from 3-point range (501-of-1,213). Redd is good as cash from the free-throw stripe at 84.4 percent (995-of-1,179).
This July 22, when free agents are allowed to sign new deals, Redd will officially become a member of the NBA’s elite multimillionaire club. He will ink a six-year contract with the Bucks estimated to be worth between $90 to $96 million.
Redd was also aggressively pursued by Cleveland, but the Cavs can only offer him a five-year deal for $70 million. Redd seriously considered going back to Ohio and he was tickled pink at thought of playing alongside LeBron James, the NBA’s next big superstar.
But in the end, neither the scent of home, nor the magic of LeBron was worth the truckloads of money that Milwaukee was willing to dump in his doorstep.
Five years ago, he owned a two-year NBA contract that amounted only to $788,000 with the second year not guaranteed. In 13 days, he will attach himself to at least a $90-million fortune. All guaranteed.
To guys like Michael Redd, who works hard and never give up, life is beautiful. Isn’t that lovely?
WHERE ARE THEY NOW? Rodel Montaner (momontz@hotmail.com) asks: “Could you please give us an update on Latrell Sprewell and Sam Cassell, who made a mess in Minnesota last season?”
Sprewell is a free agent and the Timberwolves are happy they won’t have to deal with this sorry malcontent.
Spree’s future doesn’t look good. He normed just 12.8 points per game last season, his worst in 13 years. At 34, it’s clear that he has less offensive strength and less defensive might. The only thing Spree has more, it seems, is bad attitude.
Spree earned $14,625,000 last season and he declined Minnesota’s four-year $24-million contract extension. Horrible mistake. With his anemic stats and fat baggage, he’d be lucky to get a one-year deal worth at least $4.5 million (the veteran’s mid-level exception) this summer.
Hell, Sprewell will be lucky to play at all.
Cassell is in a better place. Although the Wolves would also love to ax him, Sam still has a year left in his contract worth $6,250,000. Even at 35 with a banged-up body, Cassell will draw some interest because he is a champion and a leader.
More importantly, Sam is clutch and even with his waning minutes (25.8 per), he can be an effective relief at the point-guard position.
Don’t you think Steve Nash and the Suns would love to have a back-up like Sam?
(homsay@hotmail.com)
(July 9, 2005 issue)
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