Key Knicks Addition Painted as Scapegoat for Former Team’s Struggles

cam reddish

Getty Cam Reddish.

Cam Reddish came over to the New York Knicks before the NBA trade deadline and at the time it was hailed as a good move for the franchise.

The Knicks were able to ship seldom used Kevin Knox out of town for a young former top 10 pick in the draft. Reddish was also the former Duke teammate of breakout star RJ Barrett.

Reddish requested a trade from the Atlanta Hawks because he wanted a bigger role, and the Knicks seemed like they were going to be able to give him that. What transpired was a different story entirely and he was never really able to crack the rotation.

Near the end of his tenure with the Hawks, he was viewed as a negative asset, but coach Nate McMillan kept playing him.


Reddish Blamed for Hawks Early Struggles

Cam Reddis

Getty ImagesRJ Barrett (R) and Cam Reddish (L) of the New York Knicks.

The Hawks, who were recently eliminated by the Miami Heat, played Reddish in the lineup because they were afraid of messing up the team chemistry.

“All of the analytics pointed to Reddish’s play actively hurting the Hawks, but he remained in the rotation,” wrote The Athletic’s Chris Kirschner. “There was no mandate from the front office to play Reddish to increase his trade value. McMillan continued playing him, sources say, because he felt like if he didn’t, the team’s chemistry would’ve been negatively impacted. It was a bad read from McMillan. The Hawks were 15-19 when Reddish played this season and 28-20 without him.”

The Hawks held out for a first round pick in a trade, and when the Knicks came up and offered one, Reddish was shipped out of town. His talent was never in question, but his consistency has been a cause of concern.

“He could drop 30 points, or he could badly miss multiple stepback jumpers and gamble for steals defensively,” wrote Kirschner. As one person inside the organization said earlier in the season, ‘Cam will be good once he learns how to play basketball.’”

Reddish didn’t get a fair shake with the Knicks as the team was fighting for a play-in spot, but that could change next year. With the Knicks, Reddish really only played in blow outs, so there weren’t many opportunities for the team to even know what they have with the former lottery pick.


Will He Play Next Year?

Cam Reddish

GettyNew York Knicks wing Cam Reddish going up for a basket.

If the Knicks want to know if they have a good building block for the future, they might want to focus on playing Reddish. Giving up Knox isn’t a huge deal since he didn’t play, but attaching a draft pick just to dump a player in exchange for somebody else who also doesn’t play doesn’t make a lot of sense.

Reddish’s age fits right in with the current timeline of the roster, so there’s no harm in seeing what they have with him. With expectations set more modestly now after missing the playoffs, the team might feel they can give the young players a longer leash.

Something that coach Tom Thibodeau has been frequently criticized for is leaning too much on the veterans, and that was evident with Alec Burks playing point guard for much of the year even with Miles McBride waiting in the wings.

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