What should Cam Reddish’s role be to start Knicks season?
After being traded to the Knicks last season, Cam Reddish did not see the floor very often, seemingly being in coach Tom Thibodeau’s dog house. While the Knicks did not give up that much for Reddish, many fans were not happy with the team’s treatment of Reddish, not understanding the purpose of trading assets for a player to not give him the proper minutes.
There was still hope for the Knicks to turn things around with Reddish to give him a legitimate role on the team. It seems as if this is not the case, as the Knicks have made it known they are not extending him. In addition, he played extremely poorly in the preseason. It seems as if Reddish may have a tough time finding his role on the team.
Even with all of this in mind, the question remains — What will Reddish’s role be to start the season?
Honestly, we may not see much of Reddish at the start of the Knicks’ season
After not giving Reddish many opportunities during the 2021-22 regular season, it was pretty surprising to see coach Thibodeau give Reddish plenty of opportunities during the preseason. Despite this, Reddish may have thrown away his chance to have a role in the regular season with his poor play.
As you can see, in four games, Reddish scored a total of 17 points while shooting an atrocious 6-for-28 from the field and 2-for-12 from three. He showcased some very questionable shot selection in the process.
Obviously, there is more to basketball than scoring. However, Reddish didn’t show much of anything else during his time on the floor, only throwing four assists to three turnovers while looking solid at best defensively.
With the way New York’s rotation is seemingly going to pan out, there may not be enough room for Reddish to consistently get minutes barring an injury. The Knicks’ bench rotation will most likely look something like Derrick Rose, Immanuel Quickley, Quentin Grimes, Obi Toppin, and Isaiah Hartenstein (in that order).
With that in mind, I really don’t see where Reddish could possibly fit into this rotation. Not only is everyone on this potential bench lineup arguably better than Reddish, they also fit better next to one another.
Reddish has always struggled to stay consistent during his short career in the NBA thus far. With this inconsistency seemingly not going away, it is going to be very tough for Reddish to find minutes.
Obviously, it is difficult for any player to be consistent when they don’t have a coach that believes in them. However, the issues that Reddish has shown during his time on the Knicks were also a problem when he was on the Hawks.
It will be very interesting to see how Thibodeau handles Reddish’s minutes this season, but I really don’t see a way in which Reddish is given consistent time on the court this year.