MILWAUKEE - Entering his 10th season with the Milwaukee Bucks, Michael Redd has taken on his share of challenges during his professional career.

As a rookie in 2000, few NBA observers gave Redd, a lowly-regarded second-round draft choice, a chance to make the Bucks' roster.

Then, after making the Bucks roster as a backup guard, Redd wasn't given much of a chance of becoming a full-time starter.

And, once Redd moved into the starting lineup, he wasn't given much of a chance of becoming an All-Star, which he did in 2004.

With the Bucks ready to open the 2009-2010 season Friday night on the road against the Philadelphia 76ers - Milwaukee's home debut is Saturday night against the Detroit Pistons - Redd is poised for some more daunting challenges.

One of them is trying to successfully rebound from anterior cruciate ligament and medial collateral ligament surgeries in March. Redd injured his right knee Jan. 24 against Sacramento and missed the Bucks' last 35 games.

For the 30-year-old Redd, returning to All-Star form is almost an obsession.

"I want to have my best season ever," said Redd, who has led the team in scoring the last six seasons. "I'm on a mission."

But Redd has another lofty goal: leading Milwaukee to the Eastern Conference playoffs. That will indeed be challenging because the Bucks' roster is saturated with new players.

What's more, the Bucks' opening night starting lineup likely will include rookie point guard Brandon Jennings, second-year small forward Luc Mbah a Moute and a grizzled veteran in 37-year-old power forward Kurt Thomas.

If that isn't enough of a concern, the Bucks will be missing nearly 49 points per game from their starting lineup from last season. To wit:

-- Veteran small forward Richard Jefferson (19.6 points) was traded to San Antonio over the summer for little in return.

n Power forward Charlie Villanueva (16.2 points) signed with Central Division rival Detroit during free agency - without the Bucks even attempting to match the Pistons' offer.

-- Point guard Ramon Sessions (12.4 points), also a restricted free agent over the summer, signed with Minnesota. Again, the Bucks refused to match the offer.

The implosion of the roster sent shock waves throughout the NBA with the perception that the Bucks, a small-market team, were in a salary-dump mode. But, Bucks general manager John Hammond vehemently denied that was the case, insisting the roster overhaul was part of his plan to create more roster and salary-cap flexibility for the future.

Redd said he could empathize with Bucks fans who wondered why the Bucks - who won 34 games last season despite major injuries to Redd and center Andrew Bogut - overhauled their roster.

"I was scratching my head," Redd said. "You're thinking, 'OK, because of those injuries (to Bogut and Redd), we didn't win. But if we would have been healthy, we would have made some noise.'

"I'm going to miss those guys. You obviously respect the talents of Richard Jefferson and Charlie and Ramon. At the same time, I know it's a business. That's the NBA. Guys can come; guys can go.

"I got to embrace the new guys we have this year and, hopefully, we can get better."

Most NBA pundits don't envision that scenario. Most NBA publications predict the Bucks will be among the least in the East and won't even match their win total of last season. The Las Vegas oddsmakers have the Bucks' over-under win total at 25.5.

Redd said he hasn't gotten caught up in the doom-and-gloom projections, but he acknowledges he and his teammates will have their work cut out for them.

"This season is going to be one of the greatest challenges of my life. Coming back from knee surgery and nurturing a young team," Redd said. "It's going to be an incredible challenge."

Bucks coach Scott Skiles will be severely challenged as well. Somehow, some way, Skiles has to figure out how to mold his collection of newcomers into a cohesive unit and how to recoup the points supplied by Jefferson, Villanueva and Sessions.

Their projected replacements were all complementary players last season and are hardly considered high-octane scorers. Thomas averaged only 4.3 points in San Antonio last season and Mbah a Moute averaged 7.2. The 20-year-old Jennings managed just 5.5 points while coming off the bench for Lottomatica Virtus Roma in Rome.

Skiles, who had significant input in the Bucks' offseason decisions, refuses to put a number on how many games the Bucks could win this season. But Skiles admitted he has seen some publications which are predicting a tough season.

"Yes, I've seen a couple of those, but I don't think about that too much," Skiles said. "We want to get better. We want to show that we're a better team. We want to be a good defensive team, a near the top of the league defensive team, a good rebounding team and play unselfishly on the offensive end.

"That's it in a nutshell. If we do those things, we'll have the wins to show for it."