On January 13th, 2022, the New York Knicks acquired Cam Reddish from the Atlanta Hawks in a trade. Reddish had requested a trade from the Hawks behind the scenes as he was hoping to land with an NBA team that would provide him an opportunity at a larger role.
From that perspective, the Knicks were a peculiar landing spot. They have RJ Barrett, Reddish’s teammate at Duke, entrenched at the small forward spot with veteran Evan Fournier starting at shooting guard. Rookie Quentin Grimes was emerging with the second unit as a useful wing player as well.
Finding minutes for him was not going to be easy, which is reportedly one of the reasons Tom Thibodeau was against the trade. He didn’t believe Reddish was an upgrade on anyone in the current rotation. Now, we have come to find out that Reddish felt the same way.
According to Marc Berman of the New York Post via an NBA source, Reddish was leery about a trade to New York because of the logjam that already existed on the wing. Even with his ability to play as a stretch-4, Reddish was blocked there as it was already hard enough finding Obi Toppin minutes behind Julius Randle.
Seeing no light at the end of the tunnel, on his 23rd birthday, it is being reported that Reddish has requested a trade from the Knicks. He is once again looking for a larger role and wants a change of scenery after how things went before he injured his right shoulder.
“The Knicks didn’t have a plan for him,” the NBA source said. “They traded for him without one and still don’t have one. He would like a bigger opportunity somewhere.”
Reddish was the 10th overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft and has yet to find his footing in the league. He struggled to stay healthy with the Hawks and wasn’t very efficient when he was on the court. The same issues followed him to New York, yet he is hoping to land on his third team heading into his fourth season in the NBA.
LATEST NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: Cam Reddish & New York Knicks Updates
While opportunities haven’t been plentiful, there is likely a reason for that. Teams just don’t give up in 10th overall picks without there being a reason for it. Reddish has failed to cement himself as someone worthy of rotation minutes while other players have risen to the occasion.
With the Knicks embroiled in trade negotiations with the Utah Jazz for Donovan Mitchell, a Reddish trade is certainly on the back burner. But, he could easily be involved in that deal, as the Los Angeles Lakers have been rumored as a potential third team to help facilitate a trade and have been linked to Reddish.
LATEST NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: Cam Reddish & New York Knicks Updates
That should come as no surprise as Reddish is represented by Klutch Sports. That is the same agency that represents LeBron James and Anthony Davis and they are not shy about pushing their players toward the same teams.
