The New York Knicks can’t offer Cam Reddish the role he’s looking for:
One of the primary reasons Cam Reddish requested a trade from the Atlanta Hawks was due to his role and playing time situation. Reddish averaged 23.4 minutes per game with Atlanta, earning 11.9 points and shooting 38% from three point range.
Reddish sought a more prominent role, which is why the front office for Atlanta scoured the market for a potential deal sending him on his way. At first glance, the Knicks offered him an opportunity to start fresh and earn a more legitimate title, but his playing time situation might’ve actually taken a negative hit.
Against the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday afternoon, Reddish played in just five minutes, scoring two points and recording two rebounds. Overall, his impact was minimal, but head coach Tom Thibodeau didn’t provide much confidence that his role would increase in the coming days.
“The one thing is just trying to establish a routine,’’ Thibodeau said, via Marc Berman of The Post. “When we were playing well, we pretty much had a nine-man rotation. But when I have opportunities to get him in, I want to get him in. And it was good just to let him get his feet wet a little bit. He’s working really well in practice. You never know in this league, you can have an injury and the next thing you’re in there. I look at a guy like Quentin. He benefited from everyone being out, got in there played well and he’s still in there.’’
By the time Reddish finds himself playing similar minutes during his time with Atlanta, the season might be coming to an end. Cam will have to battle Quentin Grimes, Immanuel Quickley, and even Alec Burks for some of their minutes unless injuries take hold of the Knicks’ roster.
Thibodeau is already having difficulty finding the right player combinations, with Obi Toppin playing in just eight minutes and scoring two points against Los Angeles. There’s not much time to go around on the bench with elevated play from RJ Barrett to open the new year and Julius Randle still playing 35+ minutes per game.
There’s likely only an extra 60 minutes to spread, and with Quickley picking up over 20 minutes and Grimes doing the same, Reddish has a tall task ahead of him. That is not even to mention when Kemba walker and Derrick Rose are back full-time; Reddish may be wishing he never asked Atlanta for a move in the first place.
More must-reads: