Friday Insider

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Seeing Redd

by Chad Ford

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Also Below: Knicks tear Spree down, build him up again | Camby blames Knicks for injury woes | Marbury needs surgery | Turf Wars Update | Peep Show

The Bucks still have until Wednesday to match the Mavs' four-year, $12 million offer sheet to restricted free agent Michael Redd. But with every day that passes, speculation continues to grow that the Bucks are going to just the let the Mavs have him.

That's not what general manager Ernie Grunfeld or head coach George Karl wants, but the signs continue to grow more ominous every day that Redd stays out of camp.

Mavs owner Mark Cuban told the Dallas Morning News on Friday, he expects to know something today. "If they're going to re-sign him, it would make sense to do it while we're up there to kind of show us up," Cuban said. "If they're going to match, I think they'll do it [Friday]. I'm sure if they're going to sign him, they'd like to get him in camp as soon as possible."

What's taking the Bucks so long? Owners didn't get great news concerning the luxury tax at the Board of Governors meeting in New York this week — in all likelihood the tax will kick in this season — which means that Bucks owner Herb Kohl will likely have to pay a big tax penalty if the team matches Dallas' offer for Redd. Right now, the Bucks have roughly $54 million in committed salaries this season and $58 million in committed salaries for the 2003-04 season. Redd may be worth three million a year, but six million may be a different story.

While Grunfeld and Karl understand Redd's importance to the team, to Kohl, Redd is permanently stuck behind All-Star guard Ray Allen on the depth chart. If you remember, the Bucks had a similar dilemma two summers ago when they had to break open the vault for Tim Thomas after the Bulls made a run at him. Thomas ended up stuck on the bench for two seasons before the Bucks had seen enough and shipped Glenn Robinson to the Hawks just to get him more playing time.

But the real story here lies in the reaction of several team executives who are "seeing Redd" over the whole affair. The Bucks have thumped their chest all summer, claiming that they'll match any offer. Their argument was so convincing that several teams in desperate need of a shooting guard — Utah, Denver and Minnesota were his most interested suitors — balked at signing Redd to an offer sheet. The Jazz settled for Matt Harpring, the T-Wolves landed Troy Hudson and the Nuggets didn't do much of anything.

Meanwhile, Mavs owner Mark Cuban waited everyone out, read the luxury-tax signs, and then signed Redd to a relative bargain offer sheet.

"We really dropped the ball here," one team executive told Insider. "Cuban has a better pulse on the economic environment than anyone. He saw something in Milwaukee that the rest of us didn't. We would have loved to have had Redd at that price, we just let the Bucks convince us that they'd match."

How will Redd fit in Dallas? While coach Don Nelson has been preaching "giant ball" this fall with a starting lineup of Shawn Bradley, Raef LaFrentz, Dirk Nowitzki, Michael Finley and Steve Nash, the addition of Redd would allow him to slide Redd in at the two, move Finley to the three, Nowtizki to the four and LaFrentz to center. That may be the best shooting starting five in the league.

"Redd will be perfect in Dallas," one league exec told Insider. "When you look at their roster, he's exactly the type of player they needed in their backcourt. He's a matchup problem where ever you put him and he's a phenomenal shooter."

As for the Bucks, if they lose Redd, they'll be forced to go with a rookie like Ronald Murray or Mike Wilks, or they'll sign five-year veteran Cedric Henderson.

No Redd news is bad Redd news

Tom Enlund / Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel

Mavs win ugly, but focus is off the court

Eddie Sefko / Dallas Morning News

Knicks tear Spree down, build him up again

It's probably a small thing, but the Knicks' on-again off-again feud with Latrell Sprewell has me thinking that the sum of everything is quietly becoming larger than its parts.

The latest incident? Someone on the Knicks decided it would be a good idea to take Spree's nameplate off his locker Thursday night and replace it with — drum roll here — Todd Lindeman's. Sometime during the course of the game, someone either realized the error or decided that the message it sent wasn't a good one and hastily stuck Spree's name back up on the locker next to Lindeman's nameplate.

It really isn't that big of a deal. But the Knicks' continued bumbling certainly doesn't inspire much faith in their long-term future. The Knicks' passive-aggressive behavior toward Spree — banish him one minute, welcome him with open arms the next — mirrors their play on the court. What the Knicks need is some consistency, and lord knows they aren't getting it from the top right now.

Here's Spree's agent, Bob Gist's take on all that's transpired the last few days.

"The fine is not really the issue with Latrell," Gist told the N.Y. Times. "The Knicks embarrassed him by telling him to stay away from the other players. I don't think they're aware of the impact that had on Latrell, of how negative that was. It was a personal attack, and that needs to be healed and mended sometime soon."

For now it looks like that reunion Scott Layden is anxiously awaiting will take place Oct. 19th when the Knicks return from a road trip.

As for the rest of the Knicks, the whole team seems enthused by the early play of Antonio McDyess. If Spree comes back focused and Allan Houston sinks a few threes here or there they should be able to win more than 32 games. Kurt Thomas isn't a center, but with the exception of Dikembe Mutombo, all of the top Eastern Conference centers, like Thomas, are really power forwards impersonating centers. The point guard situation is shakier, but if Howard Eisley continues to play well, it isn't that dire.

Spree's Nameplate Returned To Locker

Marc Berman / New York Post

Camby blames Knicks for injury woes

Speaking of rotten Knicks . . .

Stop the presses! Marcus "I'm tougher than Penny" Camby is injured again. Camby underwent hip surgery Thursday night and in another surprise, he's blaming the Knicks for his injury.

"From everything I'm hearing from the doctors, this is part of the original injury," Camby's agent Rich Kaplan told the N.Y. Times. "It's from the trauma of the fall he had last season. This should have been picked up in February, March or April. Then, Marcus could have had surgery and been playing right now at 100 percent. So Marcus is angry with the Knicks about that and a bit frustrated."

Amazingly, there was no mention by Kaplan of the fact that Camby has yet to play more than 63 games during any season in his NBA career.

Scott Layden blew the whole thing off. "He passed the physical with the Denver Nuggets' doctors," Layden said. But Nuggets GM Kiki Vandeweghe will have a harder time letting go.

With Camby out of the picture, the Nuggets now have just two players with more than three years of NBA experience, and their names are Juwan Howard and George McCloud. Ouch!

With Camby out for the first month or two of the season, the Nuggets will feature rookie Nene Hilario and former Celtics big man Mark Blount in the middle. Both players were solid in their preseason debuts Thursday night.

Blount totaled 14 points and five rebounds in 23 minutes. After a shaky start, Hilario finished with 14 points and nine rebounds in 22 minutes.

"For a young player, [Hilario] has the physicalness to get in there and mix it up," Nuggets coach Jeff Bzdelik told the Rocky Mountain News. "Obviously, we wish we had Marcus, but now he has a chance to get completely healthy."

Camby Accuses Knicks Over Injury

Chris Broussard / New York Times

Despite loss, Nuggets stay in center of things

Chris Tomasson / Rocky Mountain News

Marbury needs surgery

Stephon Marbury needs surgery on his problematic left ankle. Whether that surgery happens now, or at the end of the season, is up to Marbury.

"There are a couple of options," Suns GM Bryan Colangelo told the Arizona Republic. "One is to wait [on surgery] and establish a treatment protocol for the season, not unlike what we did last season. There is no thought that he would do further damage, but it is something that will have to be addressed [surgically] at some point. The other alternative is to do something corrective right now. That's what needs to be discussed in further detail between Stephon, [suns coach] Frank Johnson and myself, and I'm sure Steph will want to discuss it with his family."

If Marbury decides to have the surgery now, he'd likely miss the start of the season. The Suns are pretty thin at point guard and would likely start a combination of Joe Johnson and Penny Hardaway in the backcourt. Both players are shooting guards but Penny started his career as a point guard and Johnson has been playing point guard quite a bit in the preseason.

Marbury will need surgery

Bob Young / Arizona Republic

Coach says Marbury isn't in the doghouse

Bob Young / Arizona Republic

Turf Wars Update

With the first week of the preseason under our belts, here are the latest developments from several turf wars Insider identified earlier this week.

Bulls: Jamal Crawford got the start over Jason Williams in the team's preseason opener, but coach Bill Cartwright said not to read too much into Crawford's start, which came in part because Williams is slowed by a bruised left shin. The coach wouldn't say who would start Friday against Toronto. "They're both doing a really nice job," Cartwright told the Chicago Sun Times. "I'm pleased with how they're working. They're both shooting well. They're both playing how they play."

Sonics: Not only is Desmond Mason ahead of Brent Barry in his quest to become the team's starting two guard, now Mason is asserting himself as the "go-to guy" behind Gary Payton. Coach Nate McMillan is looking past Rashard Lewis and Barry and seems to be focused in on Mason. "It could be anybody," McMillan told the Seattle Times. "But somebody has got to step up and prove to me that they can be that guy. ... So far, Mase has proven that he wants to be that guy. Now, can he do it is another question."

Blazers: Derek Anderson is having a great pre-season. "He talked about it earlier, wanting to do more," coach Mo Cheeks told the Oregonian. "And his play is speaking volumes right now. It's hard to keep him off the court when he plays like that." It is still unknown what Anderson's role will be this season once Scottie Pippen recovers from a sore right knee. Cheeks wants Pippen in the starting lineup, which theoretically will push Bonzi Wells to Anderson's position -- shooting guard. Anderson said he wants to start, but he also said he won't become a distraction if he is coming off the bench. "That doesn't matter," Anderson said. "I'll carry us one game and go to the bench the next game. That's not what is important. What is important is when I'm in there, I'm making something happen."

Hornets: For now, David Wesley is getting the starting nod over Courtney Alexander. Wesley's experience and defense have been the difference. "It's going to take Courtney some time to get acclimated to what we're doing," coach Paul Silas told the Times Picayune. "He has not been used to really challenging guys when he has the ball and that's something he will have to get used to."

Pacers: Forward Al Harrington looks healthy and the Pacers aren't easing him back into anything. He played a team-high 31 minutes in the Pacers' opener and scored 15 points in 24 minutes Thursday night. His primary competition will come from Ron Artest. Artest is injured with a sore pinkie at the moment. "I thought Ron in [training] camp was one of our top two or three players. He was extremely sharp and his physical conditioning was off the charts. So not having him around, not having his intensity in practice, his presence, that's going to hurt us."

Wizards: Tyronn Lue and Jared Jeffries got the start at point guard and power forward Thursday, but it was Larry Hughes and Kwame Brown who turned everyone's head. Brown scored 20 points and grabbed 5 boards in 27 minutes. Hughes had 13 points, 5 boards, 3 assists and 3 steals. "That's the Kwame we want to love every night," coach Doug Collins told the Washington Post. "Now I just don't want him to take a step backward, I want him to get greedy and be better."

Celtics: Tony Delk has started the first two Celtics pre-season games ahead of Shammond Williams and it doesn't look like that's going to change.

Cavs: Third-year point guard Milt Palacio is close to nailing down the starting point guard job in Cleveland, a league source told Insider. Palacio started on Thursday night and made a strong impression. "I liked his direction and leadership on the court," Lucas told the Cleveland Plain Dealer. "For us to be effective, our point guards have got to run the show. Tonight, Milt stepped up and did a very good job."

No clear winner in Bulls' point-guard competition

Roman Modrowski / Chicago Sun Times

Mason looking to take spot as second option

Percy Allen / Seattle Times

Anderson lifts Blazers to another easy victory

Jason Quick / The Oregonian

Hornets can't get it together in exhibition

John Reid / Times-Picayune

Pacers miss guards in preseason loss

Sekou Smith / Indianapolis Star

For Openers, All Aces

Steve Wyche / Washington Post

Lucas likes Palacio's leadership at point for Cavaliers

Branson Wright / Cleveland Plain Dealer

Peep Show

Kings: The word out of Sacramento is that Vlade Divac is in the best shape of his career. "You know," observed Kings special assistant Pete Carril told the Sacramento Bee, "Vlade looks like he's in the best shape that I've seen him. He's still the No. 1 flopper in the league , but I saw those games at Indianapolis, and in the end, he was always a factor. I think that's what everyone is starting to see." Instead of being worn down by the World Championships, Divac says he's energized. "Maybe I should be tired from playing during the summer, but winning picks you up emotionally. I think back to last year, how close we came, and I want to keep fighting. I don't want to put all this extra pressure on myself, but maybe this is our year."

Celtics: Kedrick Brown severely sprained his right ankle Thursday night. "It's a severe sprain," trainer Ed Lacerte told the Boston Herald. "There's no timetable now. It's too early." The loss is a big one for the Celtics. "I'm feeling bad," Antoine Walker told the Boston Globe. "It's a huge loss right now. He shows a lot of flashes. Obviously, we have to wait to find out the severity of his injury. Hopefully, it's an injury to where he can get back by opening night because we definitely need him. He worked very hard this summer to develop his game. He was coming into his own. We've got to keep him encouraged and, hopefully, this thing is just a sprained ankle."

Hornets: An MRI test will be administered today in New Orleans on P.J. Brown's inflamed left ankle. "We just want to make sure everything is OK and then we'll see where it goes from there," coach Paul Silas told the New Orleans Times Picayune.

Sixers: Second-year forward Samuel Dalembert will have surgery to clean out his left knee, coach Larry Brown told the Philadelphia Inquirer. Although he would not go into great detail, Brown said that surgery would not end Dalembert's season, but would sideline him possibly up to six weeks. . . Brown also said that Jared Jeffries was his favorite player in draft. The Sixers tried to trade up from No. 16 in the draft to No. 3 in order to get Jeffries, but could not. "I would've taken him No. 1, and I'm not disrespecting any of the other kids in the draft," Brown said. "That's just the way I felt."

Spurs: Speedy Claxton had an impressive debut Thursday. When Emmanuel Ginobili joins Claxton and Malik Rose on the floor, the Spurs could have one of the quicker benches in the league. "It will be exciting to have them on the court at the same time," coach Gregg Popovich told the San Antonio Express News. "I want to keep the pace that Parker has with the starting team. I thought Speedy did a real good job [Thursday]. He showed that he understands what we're trying to do. If we could get two or three other guys doing that, that would be really cool."

Pistons: Rookie Mehmet Okur is quickly working his way into coach Rick Carlisle's rotation. "He is definitely going to help us," Ben Wallace told the Detroit News. "Everybody is counting on him to go out and play the way he can play. He can block shots, defend and is a solid rebounder." Cliff Robinson said he was impressed with Okur's willingness to scrap. "He's impressed me from day one," Robinson said. "When he came in they said he wasn't that tough, that he didn't want to be physical. But he has shown me the exact opposite."

Bucks, Hawks: Glenn Robinson, upset that former teammate Ray Allen called him a ball-hog, unleashed an attack of his own on Thursday. "Who was the first one there to take up for him?," Robinson told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. "Big Dog was. He needs to work on not being so soft and quit being a little punk on the court. Just play ball and keep his mouth closed."

Divac -- First world, now Lakers

Ailene Voisin / Sacramento Bee

A high-stakes loss

Shira Springer / Boston Globe

Brown to have MRI test today

John Reid / New Orleans Times-Picayune

Sixers Notes | Dalembert needs surgery on his knee

Ashley McGeachy Fox / Philadelphia Inquirer

Quick start for Speedy

Johnny Ludden / San Antonio Express-News

Rotation is not set

Chris McCosky / Detroit News

Big Dog bites back at Ray Allen

D. Orlando Ledbetter / Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel

[Blunt91]

What's with Glenn and Ray Allen having words. Looks like it might be a good showdown when we face the Bucks this year.

[Guest]

I think Glen was taking things in stride, not trying to criticize the Bucks or its players...until they went media on him. No player likes that from his former teammates, esp. his cohort and costar...Big Dog's got too much pride to let it slide (he has let earlier comments go without such a retort...obviously he'd had enough).

[hds428]

It seems like that team is just hemmoraging talent, and getting little and nothing in return. After we robbed em blind in the Bigg Deal then signed Hamm right out from under them, Redd appearantly will defect to Dallas (who could start their bench and beat most EC teams), things are looking pretty bleak for the Bucks. Fey-Ray better toughen up cause it looks like he's going to have to play about 48 minutes every night just to keep em in it. Too bad too, cause I was a big fan of Ray Allen last year, but after he punked on GRob for a headline, I lost alot of respect for the guy.