Michael Redd To Miss Rest Of Season With Torn ACL And MCL

If this sounds familiar, well, it should. Nearly one year ago to the day, Redd suffered the exact same injury and missed the remainder of the 2008-09 season. Earlier this year, Redd missed nine games after he strained a patella tendon in the same knee trying to dunk the ball. I think it’s pretty fair to slap the “injury-prone” label on Redd at this point.

When Redd went out last year, the Bucks bottomed out without him and missed the playoffs. They should fare better this time around, if only because of the presence of rookie Brandon Jennings and the fact that they have played most of the season without Redd.

However, Redd’s injury brings some interesting long-term complications to the table. Despite his injury problems, Redd is making over $17 million dollars this season, among the highest salaries in the league. He has a player option for next year for $18.3 million. Had Redd recovered and displayed his skills this season, he might have considered opting out of that final year in order to secure one more long-term contract, even if it was for less money. But since he’s now hurt again, there’s no way Redd passes on over $18 million of guaranteed money.

With Redd’s salary on the books in 2010-11, the Bucks will have significantly less flexibility next year. They will have nearly $50 million committed to just nine players, and will have to fill their roster while avoiding the luxury tax, which is expected to come down to around $65-68 million this year. Had Redd stayed healthy and opted out, Milwaukee could have joined the 2010 sweepstakes.

Instead, they’re likely stuck with Redd’s humongous contract for at least one more year. That hurts.