David Stern, the NBA's commissioner, may be giving a sop to the league's players soon. Some five weeks into the season, he's thinking of cutting and dribbling on this newfangled synthetic ball and returning to time-honored leather. Good for him, good for the league.
When it happens, though, I need to see that memo before it circulates. Small addendum to be added:
Redd now an NBA ""star""
LOS ANGELES—Near Hollywood, a player entered the mold of professional basketball ""star"" Nov. 28. Michael Redd dropped 45 points, primarily playing against one of the Association's most strong-willed defenders...
Mind you, Redd has not joined the ""superstar"" echelon. Those spaces are reserved for all-arounds like Kobe Bryant, whom the Milwaukee Bucks guard shot true over, drove past and generally outplayed in a win last week.
To the extent that Kobe's ego was softened by that performance, he had to come out the next game and assert himself. So he put on one of those memorable shows, scoring 52 points against defensive-minded Utah. It stands to reason that the ""superstar"" humbles his next opponent like Bryant did.
It would be hard to humble Redd, though. This guy has seen it all in the NBA. He was drafted in the second round, came to training camp out of shape and was nearly cut by George Karl—a coach who shows little tolerance for rookies, much less ones that show little promise.
Somehow, Redd managed to keep a spot at the end of the bench during that 2000-'01 year. In the six games that he did get his number called, Redd got, on average, approximately a minute per game.
What's remarkable about this God-fearing preacher's son is that every year he just continues to get better. In his second season, Redd offered a glimpse of the lefty-marksman he would later become. It was in a game against Houston that year that he hit eight 3-pointers in a quarter.
The springboard year was '03-'04, when he became an All-Star. Then, playing for a contract in his fifth season, he showed that he was going to earn top-dollar. So began the rumors that he would bolt to his native state of Ohio to sign a free agent contract and play with LeBron James.
It turns out he did sign a deal in that state—but it was to pay for a church in Columbus. With fresh ink on a Bucks' contract worth upwards of $90 million, the devout Redd purchased it as a gift for his father.
Unfortunately, in a small market like Milwaukee, Redd (30 points per game) is not going to get the attention he deserves. Kobe's 52 points was the talking point of that day last week, but Redd couldn't buy media coverage when he poured in 57 against the same team a couple weeks earlier.
Something tells me, though, that this unassuming player doesn't mind. And, on that thought, scrap the add-on to the memo. This season, the league's players are getting the message.
