The New York Knicks can’t catch a break. After losing seven-straight games, New York’s won three games in a row. That’s enough to be happy about, right? Well, on Thursday afternoon that happiness was spoiled when it was announced that Cam Reddish will be out for the rest of the season.
In Monday’s 131-115 win over Sacramento, Reddish took a hard fall and landed on his shoulder. Instead of traveling with the Knicks to Dallas for Wednesday night’s matchup, he traveled back to New York to get his shoulder sprain reevaluated.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski confirmed Knicks fans’ current worst fear and reported that Reddish will be out for six weeks.
The good news is that he won’t have to spend the offseason rehabbing the separation but the bad news is that the regular season ends in exactly a month. New York isn’t out of reach of the play-in tournament and Reddish won’t be around to help the Knicks attempt to make it to the postseason for the second season in a row.
New York Knicks forward Cam Reddish will miss the rest of the season with a right shoulder separation, sources tell ESPN. Reddish’s recovery timeline is expected to be in the six-week range, so he’ll be clear for a full summer of work ahead of the 2022-2023 season.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) March 10, 2022
New York Knicks’ Cam Reddish is out for the season with a shoulder injury.
Okay, let’s be real. The chances of the Knicks even making it to the tournament are low but the real concern is if Reddish will be back in New York next year.
The 22-year-old signed a four-year, $19.3 million rookie contract with Atlanta that expires after the 2022-23 season. In theory, Reddish could remain with the Knicks for at least another year but his name has popped up in trade rumors although he’s only been with the team for two months.
Wojnarowski wrote that Reddish will be able to negotiate a contract extension with New York during the offseason but given his misuse on the court, the likelihood of him signing an extension seems low.
This season, Reddish averaged 6.1 points, 1.4 rebounds, and 14.4 minutes in the 15 games that he played in for the Knicks. He shot 41.5% from the field.
Many onlookers have questioned why New York even traded for Reddish in the first place. Tom Thibodeau seemed content to limit Reddish’s minutes and during the minimal time that he spent on the court, he wasn’t involved in the offense.
Things had begun to turn a corner recently, though. During Sunday’s 116-93 win over the Clippers, Reddish scored 17 points (4-of-7 from the field, 2-of-4 from the 3-point line) in 25 minutes. Fans were looking forward to getting to see more of him during the final few weeks of the year but that will no longer be the case.
I believe that Reddish has a fit with the Knicks’ young roster but hopefully the front office feels the same. Regardless of if Thibodeau (or someone else) is coaching New York next year, it’d be nice to see Reddish get to play a full season with the Knicks.
Reddish deserves to get to flourish alongside his former Duke teammate RJ Barrett (and Knicks fans deserve to get to see that).
Knicks rumors: B/R proposes Kemba Walker/Cam Reddish trade for former No. 1 draft pick
A recent Bleacher Report mock trade article, in which Kemba Walker and Cam Reddish are exchanged for Markelle Fultz, is concerning for the New York Knicks.