It’s the first day of the last full month before the start of the 2022-23 regular season. Not only that, but it’s also Cam Reddish’s birthday. The New York Knicks traded a first-round pick and Kevin Knox to the Atlanta Hawks back in January for Reddish, and the now 23-year-old is reportedly looking for “a change of scenery.”
Reddish played in 15 games for the Knicks in 2021-22 before he suffered a right shoulder separation in a win over the Sacramento Kings on Mar. 7. Three days later, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported that Reddish would be out for the final month of New York’s season.
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
Reddish’s name has been floating around in the Donovan Mitchell trade rumors. It’s been two months since the Utah Jazz traded Rudy Gobert to the Minnesota Timberwolves, which opened the door to trade talks involving Mitchell. The Knicks and Jazz have gone back and forth to no avail, but the belief is still that the three-time All-Star guard will end up in New York.
And now, it seems as if Reddish will surely soon be on the way out. New York Post’s Marc Berman broke the news.
"The Post has learned Reddish wants a change of scenery from New York after he was traded there in January and didn’t initially crack the rotation to build confidence. An NBA source said Reddish is looking for a larger role."
If that’s what Reddish wants, his wish could be coming true in the very near future. Let’s explore three trades involving Cam Reddish that New York could make.
3 trades that the Knicks could make involving Cam Reddish
3: A trade with the Lakers that doesn’t involve a third team
The Los Angeles Lakers’ interest in Cam Reddish isn’t a secret. They weren’t able to get him at the trade deadline, but they could get him now. With the Lakers looking to move on from Russell Westbrook, LA is the perfect team for New York and Utah to include in a three-team trade.
That seems like the most likely route for a Reddish trade, but as Berman noted, the Knicks could do a “separate deal” with the Lakers to “perhaps to recoup a first-round pick they lost in a Utah scenario.”
If that ends up being what happens, there’s no way of knowing who would still be on the Knicks, and at that point, maybe the Lakers would’ve agreed to a Westbrook deal with the Indiana Pacers. If Westbrook goes to Indiana and LA doesn’t have to give up both of its first-round picks (2027 and 2029), maybe New York could receive one of those picks in a potential deal involving Reddish.
This scenario obviously wouldn’t be the best option for the Knicks because looping the Lakers into a three-team trade with the Jazz would help New York get Donovan Mitchell. And because LA has an interest in Reddish, a three-team trade is what the Knicks’ front office should explore.
2: A three-team trade with the Lakers that would meet the Jazz’s demands
A three-team trade involving LA would help New York meet Utah’s ridiculous demands for Donovan Mitchell. The Jazz reportedly value RJ Barrett, Quentin Grimes, and Obi Toppin in a deal (subscription required). Now that Barrett’s signed an extension with the Knicks that includes a poison pill provision, the Jazz may demand both Grimes and Toppin.
Clearly, New York should do everything that it can to not lose both Grimes and Toppin, but if that’s what ends up happening, a deal could look something like this:
Because the Knicks would lose both Grimes and Toppin, the Jazz should be happy to receive only two first-round picks from New York. Nonetheless, we all know how Danny Ainge is.
The Lakers would give up both of their first-round picks because they’d be receiving Evan Fournier, Cam Reddish, and Jordan Clarkson. This deal would allow for Reddish to get the larger role that he’s looking for, but it’d come at a steep price for the Knicks.
New York and Utah have been engaging in trade talks off and on for a couple of months now, so it’s a good sign that the Knicks haven’t been willing to give up everything in order to get Donovan Mitchell. It’s hard to envision Leon Rose making a deal such as the one above, but it seems to be what Utah’s in search of. There’s a better option, though…
1: The best route for a three-team trade with the Jazz, Lakers
This trade is one that was published in a piece on Wednesday. Since Utah reportedly values RJ Barrett, Quentin Grimes, and Obi Toppin, New York could maybe get by with including only Grimes or Toppin in a deal.
Therefore, the Knicks could end up doing a three-team trade with the Jazz and Lakers that would look something like this:
New York shouldn’t be willing to give up both Grimes and Toppin. Because it’s known that the Knicks value Grimes and have included Toppin in proposals to Utah, this trade would be the best-case scenario for New York because it wouldn’t involve Grimes.
The Lakers should be satisfied with giving up both of their first-round picks because they’d be getting Bojan Bogdanovic, Evan Fournier, and Cam Reddish in return. For Reddish, it’d allow for him to have a larger role in LA than he currently does in New York, which is what he seems to be looking for.
Now that it’s been reported that Reddish is in search of an opportunity outside of the Knicks, this is the path that Leon Rose should go down, as it goes without saying that New York would benefit greatly from acquiring Donovan Mitchell.
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