While free agency is always a hectic time in the NBA, the first day passed without New York Knicks fans getting a notification that the team had signed someone. Although news was quiet on New York’s end, a few former players secured new contracts during the first couple of days of free agency.
Two of the three players listed were on the Knicks’ roster in 2022-23, while the other last played in New York during 2020-21 before being traded to Detroit.
3 former Knicks players that secured new free agency contracts
3: Cam Reddish
Cam Reddish has had quite the journey since being selected No. 10 overall by the Hawks in the 2019 NBA Draft. In January of 2022, he was traded to the Knicks in exchange for Kevin Knox Jr. and a 2022 first-round draft pick. New York and Atlanta swapped one former lottery pick for another.
Reddish was supposed to have a resurgence with the Knicks, but instead, he spent the majority of his 13 months with the team stashed on the bench. Regardless of how much fans wanted to see more of Reddish on the court, Tom Thibodeau didn’t seem to have much of an interest in playing the 23-year-old. It left many fans to wonder why New York traded for Reddish in the first place.
After a couple of months of not playing at all, the Knicks finally traded Reddish ahead of the February deadline. It was a move that desperately needed to happen and turned out to be New York’s lone trade. The Knicks sent a protected first-round pick to the Hawks for Reddish and sent another protected first-round pick to the Trail Blazers with Reddish in exchange for Josh Hart.
Reddish had a solid finish to the 2022-23 season in Portland and entered the offseason as a restricted free agent. A few hours after the negotiation period began on Friday, Reddish signed a two-year deal with the Lakers for the veteran’s minimum.
Free agent Cam Reddish has agreed to a two-year deal with the Lakers, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 1, 2023
He’s been linked to Los Angeles for months now, and it was assumed that when New York traded him, it would be to the Lakers. At long last, he’s in Southern California.