Getty Cam Reddish.
The New York Knicks acquired forward Cam Reddish from the Atlanta Hawks last year in exchange for a first-round pick and former lottery pick Kevin Knox.
Knox didn’t stick around in Atlanta and found a new home with the Detroit Pistons, alongside several other former Knicks. Reddish is still a member of the Knicks, but it doesn’t really feel like it as he gets limited playing time.
The preseason was going to be a good opportunity for him, but an injury derailed his first chance, but he got to redeem himself in the victory over the Pacers.
Things didn’t go great for Reddish in that game either as he made a total of one of his shot attempts. When asked about his adjustment, he gave a blunt answer.
“It’s hard as s**t,” Reddish said via the New York Daily News. “But I feel like I’m mentally tough so I’m getting through it.”
Reddish could very well find himself playing for his NBA life in the upcoming season, and in order for him to do that, he’ll need to get playing time and make the most of it.
In an article about rookie extensions, Bleacher Report’s Eric Pincus predicts Reddish will likely not get one, which means this might be it for him.
Tough Prediction for Reddish
If you’re Reddish, there’s no way you thought you’d be getting an extension like Ja Morant or Zion Williamson, but something like what RJ Barrett got could’ve been in the realm of possibilities.
However, Reddish would need to have gotten playing time to make that happen, but that hasn’t panned out. Smaller extensions can happen, but Pincus listed Reddish along with several other names as contracts that don’t seem to be happening.
“Others do not appear to be priorities, including Cam Reddish (No. 10) with the Knicks, Romeo Langford (No. 14) of the Spurs and Dylan Windler (No. 26) on the Cleveland Cavaliers,” he wrote.
Despite being former lottery picks, both Reddish and Langford are no longer on the team who drafted them, so things haven’t gone that great for them. A swap of the two has even been proposed in the past, but nothing ever came to fruition.
If the two sides do decide to move on, Reddish would likely find another suitor as he’s still young and flashes some upside, but it’d be on a dirt cheap contract and he might not even find playing time depending on where he lands.
Tough to Find Minutes
Trying to find playing time in New York will be tough for Reddish as he’ll have to compete with some of the more established players like Evan Fournier and RJ Barrett.
To make matters worse is the fact that he hasn’t looked great in the limited time he has played.
Sports Illustrated’s Ben Stinar argues the Knicks should play Reddish big minutes through the start of the season to see what he has to offer, but New York hasn’t really seen much of a reason to do that just yet. It would also be a strange decision if they plan on competing for a playoff spot because Reddish would be thrown into the fire and get minutes over somebody that is likely more deserving.