The Bucks will not pick up the option on the contract of forward Joe Alexander, sources told Yahoo! Sports.

The decision will make Alexander the highest pick in NBA history to have his rookie option declined.

Milwaukee officially has until Monday to pick up the $2.7 million option or allow the forward to become an unrestricted free agent next summer.

The Bucks will start rookie Brandon Jennings at point guard in their season opener on Friday night.

Coach Scott Skiles gave Jennings the starting nod over veteran Luke Ridnour.

"I felt like both guys played really well in the preseason in most of their minutes," Skiles told the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. "It's just my call. Even when I talked to Luke, it's not like I could give Luke five set reasons.

"It's something I'm electing to do, start him (Jennings) from opening night and see what happens. It will then depend on how he plays, how we play, all those issues."

Jennings, the 10th pick in June's NBA Draft, admitted that he's feeling a little nervous as he prepares for his first professional game.

"I am excited, nervous, of course, as all rookies would be," Jennings said. "I just have to go out there and run the team and stay calm."

The Milwaukee Bucks have requested waivers on forward Walter Sharpe (6-9, 245), General Manager John Hammond announced today.

Sharpe was acquired from Denver on July 31 along with Sonny Weems and cash considerations in exchange for Malik Allen.

The Bucks roster currently stands at 15.

The Bucks went through another massive overhaul during the past offseason, something Michael Redd has grown accustomed to.  But he has never asked to be dealt to a contender.

"The Bucks' organization has been good to me," Redd said. "And [Milwaukee general manager] John [Hammond] told me he has a plan to turn things around. The NBA is a business and I understand that. Sometimes changes have to be made."

Redd, however, left the door open for finishing his career in another uniform.

"I've been here a long time and a big part of me wants to finish my career here," Redd said. "But, yeah, there is definitely a part of me that wants to play for a winner."

Donnie Walsh does not regret his decision to pass up point guard Brandon Jennings in the 2009 NBA draft.  The Knicks selected Jordan Hill with the 8th pick.

"He's a terrific athlete but he's got to get stronger," Walsh said of Hill. "But I'll tell you this: he shoots the ball a lot better than I thought he could."

Milwaukee Bucks General Manager John Hammond announced today that forward Joe Alexander re-aggravated his right hamstring injury during rehabilitation exercises this week.

After consulting with Bucks orthopedic physician Dr. Michael Gordon, M.D., Alexander is expected to be sidelined for a period of 8-to-12 weeks.  Alexander will be re-evaluated on a regular basis and his status will be updated as necessary.

Alexander, 22, originally suffered the injury during voluntary drills prior to the start of training camp on September 17.

The Bucks still haven't named a starting point guard heading into the regular season.

Coach Scott Skiles says that he's going to wait one more preseason game before he decides between rookie Brandon Jennings and veteran Luke Ridnour.

"I'll wait until the last game is over for sure (before making a decision)," Skiles told the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. "That's a position that obviously changed in the preseason. At all our positions, we want to make sure we doing whatever it is we can to give our team the best chance to win on opening night and the next night and...

"Last year, the position changed because of injury. Luke was playing well and then he got hurt. Then Ramon (Sessions) came on and he played well so obviously nothing is written in stone. But whatever we do with our starters and our bench, our sole priority is to give our team the best chance to win."

Ridnour started the team's first five preseason games, but Jennings has started the last two.

Kurt Thomas could start the regular season as the starting power forward in Milwaukee.

His role with the Bucks was in question when he was traded by the Spurs in the Richard Jefferson deal on June 23, but he started his fourth straight game on Saturday night.

"I really didn't know what to expect," Thomas told the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel of how he felt following the trade. "I just wanted to wait until I talked to the Bucks.

"They were real upbeat about things and wanted me to come in and contribute. It has been a great adjustment."

Bucks coach Scott Skiles sees Thomas playing both power positions this season.

"I'm going to have to find some sort of balance in there for him," Skiles said. "It's tough to do when you're playing him both spots. It probably means at some point you've got to leave him out for a long stretch. We'll figure it out as time goes on."

Bucks guard Michael Redd is pleased with his comeback from major knee surgery.

"It's coming," Redd told the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. "Rather than talk about what I'm going to do this year, I'm just going to do it. That's my mentality.

"I'm sure a lot of people are wondering how I'm going to return. I told coach that I wanted to play (in Chicago) just to see how a back-to-back goes. I obviously played limited minutes ... but I'm so happy."

Redd is averaging 16.8 minutes in the team's five exhibition games.

"The doctor just told me that I look great," he said following a meeting with his doctor in Chicago. "I'm taking the right steps. He said my knee looked great."

Joe Alexander could join a rare club of lottery picks who were drafted by teams that didn't pick up their first-year options on their contract.  Alexander would be owed $2.76 million next season if the Bucks pick up the first of two option years on his rookie-scale contract.

Patrick O'Bryant and Yaroslav Korolev are the other two players to suffer such a fate.

Milwaukee might decide the extra cap space is more valuable to them than Alexander.

Alexander does not have a long-term injury and has been able to do some jogging and shooting, but the timetable for his return to full contact is unclear.

"It's unfortunate that Joe has missed, in our opinion, the most important time for young players," Skiles said. "It's totally critical.

"The whole foundation of everything we're trying to do is put in (during camp). We've got new players, new teammates. He had a very good summer. The hamstring injury, even when you're green-lighted to play, generally you don't come right out and go 100%.

"There's going to be a period of reconditioning. When he gets back, we'll just have to take it day by day and see where he's at. We hope it's going to be sooner rather than later. And we hope when he gets back, we can get him into the mix somewhere."