Cavs use LeBron video to make first pitch to Redd
The Milwaukee Bucks didn't stop Friday at signing No. 1 overall draft pick
Andrew Bogut. They also presented free-agent sharpshooter Michael Redd with a
maximium contract offer in the afternoon, ESPN.com has learned.
The Bucks, according to sources, have committed to paying the 25-year-old an
estimated $80-90 million over the next six seasons. Exact figures won't be
available until July 22, when the league is expected to announce next season's
salary-cap number, but what is known now is that Milwaukee's offer will
indeed be $20-plus million higher than anyone else's.
That's because the Bucks, as Redd's current rights-holders, can offer a
six-year deal. Outside suitors for Redd can only offer five years.
That includes the Cleveland Cavaliers, who've made Redd their No. 1 target in
free agency by offering a five-year max deal worth an estimated $60-70 million.
Redd would stun most league observers if he leaves that lucrative extra year
on the table, but the fact he didn't immediately accept Milwaukee's offer
gives Cleveland some hope. The Cavs are Redd's home-state team, and sources
told ESPN.com the former Ohio State star was treated to a video plea to come
to Cleveland from LeBron James early Friday morning.
Free-agent negotiations throughout the league commenced at 12:01 a.m. Friday.
To make their pitch as early as possible, Cleveland arranged to have a video
delivered to Redd at that time featuring a recruiting pitch from James.
Sources said Seattle's Ray Allen -- Cleveland's target if Redd stays with the
Bucks -- received a similar video.
Teams can only sign incoming rookies until the new labor agreement takes hold
July 22, since rookie salaries (like Bogut's) are determined by scale.
Redd can reach a oral agreement immediately with the Bucks or the Cavs or
anyone else, but official free-agent signings are still three weeks away.
It's not yet known whether the Bucks' ongoing search for a coach will impact
Redd's decision. Since firing Terry Porter during the NBA Finals, Milwaukee
continues to chase ex-Minnesota coach Flip Saunders and came close to hiring
TNT analyst Doug Collins.
Saunders, believed to be waiting to see if he has a shot at Detroit's job,
remains a Bucks candidate. Collins, though, is said to have asked out of the
search after initially showing interest in the job.
The Bucks are nonetheless optimistic about their future, having drafted Bogut
and hoping that T.J. Ford can return from a year-long injury absence next
season. Milwaukee is expected to try to bring back Allen if it loses Redd to
the Cavaliers.
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