With a little less than two weeks remaining before the NBA‘s February 9 trade deadline hits, the Cam Reddish situation continues on unabated for the New York Knicks.
Earlier this season, it appeared as though Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau may actually start using the talented youngster. From opening night through November 27, the former No. 10 overall pick made 17 appearances for the club and averaged 9.4 points, nearly two boards and a steal in 23.3 minutes per game.
Alas, Thibodeau — who apparently wasn’t on board with the Knicks’ decision to acquire Reddish for Kevin Knox and a first-round pick — ultimately decided to bench him. Consequently, he hasn’t taken the hardwood for New York since way back on December 3.
At this point, there’s no doubt that the Knicks should look to move him. To that end, one of the team’s Eastern Conference rivals has apparently put in a bid for the Duke alum that’s worthy of consideration.
B/R: Milwaukee Bucks Offered Controversial Sharpshooter Grayson Allen for Cam Reddish
SportsNet New York‘s Ian Begley recently came out with a bit of a shocker on the Reddish front. Per his sources, the team may be willing to part with the baller for as little as a second-round pick. Of course, a salary-matching contract may have to be involved there, but a second-rounder as the key compensation in a Reddish deal feels like discount bin prices.
The Knicks aren’t looking to just give Reddish away, however. And according to Bleacher Report‘s Eric Pincus, they may have already received a much more substantial offer.
Wrote Pincus: “The Milwaukee Bucks have been offering wing Grayson Allen to multiple teams, per sources, for various players on the block, including Reddish.”
The 27-year-old Allen is someone who could actually be a difference-maker on the court for the Knicks. On the year, the Bucks guard is averaging 10.6 points, 3.6 rebounds and 2.6 assists per outing with scorching 45-40-91 shooting splits.
Obviously, that kind of shooting could make a big difference for a Knicks team that ranks just 25th league-wide in effective field-goal percentage (52.4) and 15th in three-point makes nightly (12.0). The question one has to ask themselves, though, is whether Allen would fare any better than Reddish with Thibodeaux.
Is Allen a Tom Thibodeaux-Type Player?
Dating back to his days as Doc Rivers’ assistant in Boston and beyond, Thibodeaux has been known as a defense-first coach. Players who don’t consistently give effort (and, at least occasionally, find some success) on that side of the court tend not to fare well in his system.
However, Allen may just land on the other side of that equation.
Whether one agrees with his tactics or not — he has been branded a cheap shot artist for years now — Allen is definitely a hard-nosed player. Going beyond the controversial plays, though, multiple defensive metrics paint an incredibly positive portrait of his impact.
As of this writing, Allen has the fifth-best defensive real plus/minus score of any two-guard in the league at 2.83. Meanwhile, the Bucks concede just 107.8 points per 100 possessions when he’s on the floor (compared to 109.8/100 poss. when he’s off).
Finally, opposing players’ shooting percentages drop by 6.3% on average when attempting shots from greater than 15 feet from the hoop when Allen is the closest defender.
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East Rival Offered Knicks a Trade Netting Controversial Sharpshooter: Report