Bitterly disappointed that he had not been taken until the second round of the draft, Redd was bothered by a sense of "what if" during his rookie year. Then, during the summer, the Bucks sent the errant-shooting Hunter to the Los Angeles Lakers in a cost-cutting move, and a slot in the rotation opened.

Redd knew he would have to earn any minutes he might be allotted this season, especially with Tim Thomas moving to shooting guard on occasion, but at least the Bucks were willing to give Redd that chance.

In an overtime exhibition loss to Minnesota on Wednesday night in Mankato, Minn., coach George Karl put Redd on the floor for 31 minutes. Redd responded with 20 points, as many as Allen had scored in 39 minutes. Plus, Redd shot an efficient 7 of 12, much better than Allen's 7 of 21.

Now, outperforming an all-star and Olympian in a pre-season game means close to nothing in the grand scheme. But taken for what it was worth, it was another piece of evidence that Redd continues to justify the Bucks' faith that he will eventually become a productive contributor.