The year is 2011…..Ray Allen is a star and integral part of a championship-caliber team while Michael Redd is a role player hoping to extend his career with whomever will have him. Nobody would’ve predicted this eight years ago when they were both teammates in Milwaukee…

In February of 2003, the best player on the Milwaukee Bucks was All-Star shooting guard Ray Allen. He was in his prime…though there has been little drop-off since. His backup then was young SG Michael Redd, who was quickly showing that he too could be a star in this league. Then GM, Ernie Grunfield made the tough decision to trade Allen to Seattle and open up the SG spot for Redd. He didn’t know back in 2000, when he drafted Redd 43rd overall, that he would end up being that good. His great fortune in the draft was forced his hand three years later. So, Grunfield chose to keep Redd…..29 of the other 30 NBA General Managers would’ve done the same. Well, the trade with the Sonics didn’t go quite as planned in the short-term or the long-term. Upon Gary Payton‘s arrival in Milwaukee in that trade, head coach George Karl decided to play him and incumbent PG Sam Cassell in the backcourt together…Michael Redd’s time would have to wait. When Redd did eventually get starter’s minutes, he went on to become a perennial All-Star and an Olympic gold medalist. However, multiple knee injuries and surgeries have robbed him of his glory. Ray Allen, at age 36, is the epitome of “aging gracefully”…George Hamilton ain’t got nuthin’ on my man Jesus Shuttlesworth. He is arguably the best shooter in NBA history and the most deadly guy behind the arc today. Every time he catches the ball off of a screen, opposing coaches gasp. The ‘bigs’ of the Celtics get 5-10 layups per game just due to the threat that Ray creates with his long-range prowess. Defending bigmen jump out to contest his jumper and Allen just dumps the ball off to his teammates for easy buckets. Ray’s game is a major reason that the Boston Celtics were champions in 2008 and are still contending today. Who knows…had injuries not set in, Redd could have been just as deadly a threat today as Allen still is.

Back in 2003, we expected one of these former teammates to still be going strong in 2011 and the other to be a shell of his former self…..but who knew it would be Ray Allen still at the top of his game while Michael Redd is out there just looking for work.

All I know is that the next time I see a team trade an established star to clear up playing time for an up-n-coming youngster, I’ll think of Ray Allen…his professionalism, his work ethic, and that sweet shooting stroke.

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