Getty Cam Reddish of the New York Knicks looks on during the first half against the Detroit Pistons.
On December 7, it was reported by Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News that the New York Knicks and Cam Reddish are looking to part ways via trade after it was announced that the forward would no longer be a part of Tom Thibodeau’s nine-man rotation.
Knicks and Cam Reddish’s representatives working towards trade: source
With this news, fans and media outlets alike are now champing at the bit waiting to hear of any rumblings pertaining to what team the former lottery pick could ultimately find himself suiting up for before the league’s February 9th trade deadline.
At this point in time, it’s truly anyone’s guess as to where Reddish could wind up landing if he were to be shipped out of New York in a hypothetical in-season transaction but, according to the folks at FanNation’s Inside the Thunder, Oklahoma City could be one of his more realistic destinations, and they even concocted a deal that they think could potentially get him there.
New York Knicks receive:
- Darius Bazley
OKC Thunder receive:
- Cam Reddish
In this proposed scenario, we see the Knicks and Thunder participating in a simple swap of two 2019 first-round picks in the final year of their rookie-scale contracts and, in the eyes of Inside the Thunder’s writing staff, such a move could stand to benefit both clubs rather well.
“With an unprecedented amount of assets and, potentially more importantly, an incoming unrestricted free agent in Darius Bazley, Reddish could be a target for OKC,” the Inside the Thunder staff wrote.
“Trade players, evaluate the incoming player until their deal expires and offer accordingly. New York could pull the same move. And probably stands to benefit even more from Bazley’s staunch perimeter defense than OKC could any of Reddish’s attributes.
“In the very least, it opens up even more minutes for the young Thunder squad.”
Throughout his four-year career, Bazley certainly has proven himself to be an impressive young prospect, particularly on the less glamorous side of the ball where he currently boasts a defensive rating of 108 and a defensive box plus-minus rating of 1.4 through 18 games played in 2022-23, both rank as the best marks on OKC.
However, the 22-year-old is a mightily inconsistent and inefficient contributor on the offensive end, and he holds career averages of just 9.6 points per game on a putrid 40.7% shooting from the floor and 30.7% shooting from deep, and sports a wildly underwhelming offensive rating of just 97 and an offensive box plus-minus of -2.4.
Considering the 12-13 Knicks could use far more offensive help (rank 14th in points, 24th in field goal percentage, and dead-last in 3-point percentage) than defensive contributors (rank 9th in opponent 3-point percentage and 3rd in opponent field goal percentage), should they find themselves deciding between trading Reddish for Bazley or simply keeping him in tow, one could easily argue that the latter option would make the most sense.
Though Reddish himself is also considered an inefficient offensive player (a career 39.3% shooter from the floor), sometimes it’s better the devil you know than the devil you don’t.
Knicks Have Many Possible Suitors
While the aforementioned trade proposal with the OKC Thunder may not appear to be all that enticing of a scenario for the New York Knicks to pursue, it’s safe to assume that there will be plenty of possible suitors vying for Cam Reddish’s services between now and the trade deadline.
Just recently, in a December 6 episode of “Begley’s Mailbag”, SNY NBA Insider Ian Begley noted how there have already been several teams that have “expressed interest” in targeting the fourth-year forward since his arrival in New York last season, and noted three, in specific, that find themselves gunning for deep playoff runs this year.
“I would assume that the Knicks get calls from several teams on Reddish between now and the February trade deadline,” Begley said. “Teams that have expressed interest in Reddish in the past since the trade to New York have included the Lakers, the Heat, and the Bucks.”
From earlier: we talked Cam Reddish, Tom Thibodeau, Leon Rose’s loyalty to Thibs & more in this week’s Mailbag. Thanks to
@KNYT_Hoops, @AndrewA59778512, @BostonKnick, @yer_donnie & @Kennethschiumo for the questions! Full show here: t.co/FSKhjgCAEZ
Though he has had an inconsistent tenure in the association up to this point, one could easily make the argument that Reddish still has the allure of being considered an interesting trade asset for opposing teams.
Still just 24 years old, the forward has both the size (6-foot-7 with a 7-foot-1 wingspan) and raw skill set necessary to develop into a quality two-way wing.
Throughout his career and even during this year’s campaign, he has shown flashes of the potential that made him a top-10 pick in the first place (averaged 16.5 points, 2.3 rebounds, 2.3 steals, and just shy of a block on 53.5% shooting from the floor during his final four starts this season), though has yet to prove that he can put it all together on a consistent basis.
Perhaps with a fresh start in a fresh new setting, Reddish can finally figure out how to live up to his draft day expectations.
Knicks Taking Calls on Other Players
Along with Cam Reddish, three of his teammates in Immanuel Quickley, Evan Fournier, and Derrick Rose were recently found being buzzed about within the trade rumor mill, as it was reported that the Knicks could be open to making some serious rotational shakeups.
According to a December 7 report by The Athletic’s Fred Katz, discussions have already been held regarding possible trades involving these aforementioned talents and, of the bunch, New York’s third-year guard in Quickley could be the one to net Leon Rose and company the most desirable return package.
“In discussions where the 23-year-old is the standalone piece going out, New York has targeted a future first-round pick, league sources said,” Katz reports. “The team is overflowing with guys who could justify playing time. Moving on from one of the guards could free up space.”
👀 @IQ_GodSon getting real crafty out there
A fan-favorite spark-plug talent, the Knicks guard finds himself boasting career averages of 11.2 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 2.9 assists on 35.8% shooting from the floor and could provide instant offense for any number of teams looking to improve their backcourt scoring prowess.