Knicks appear to remove Duke basketball product from rotation

Uncertainty again surrounds Cam Reddish's outlook with the New York Knicks.

A few weeks ago, Cam Reddish was at his peak with the New York Knicks after entering the starting lineup, where he remained for an eight-game stretch in which the team, now 11-13, went 4-4. The former Duke basketball one-and-done then sat out three games with a sore right groin and has seen his minutes plummet ever since.

RELATED: Stacking up all 26 Duke one-and-dones in history

And despite being healthy on Sunday, Reddish did not see the floor in the Knicks' 92-81 home win over the Cleveland Cavaliers. That left many New York fans again up in arms over the franchise's use of the 23-year-old former No. 10 overall draft pick, who arrived in the Big Apple from the Atlanta Hawks in January as part of a trade.

"Tom Thibodeau made it sound like after the game on Sunday that he was set with his nine-man rotation for the immediate future, and Cam Reddish would not be a part of it," SNY NBA insider Ian Begley explained in the latest episode of his "Begley's Mailbag" on Tuesday. "And this is significant because Cam Reddish had been a part of this rotation for much of the season...Now, it seems as if the emergence of Quentin Grimes has taken away Reddish's role."

We talked Cam Reddish, Tom Thibodeau, Leon Rose's loyalty to Thibs and more in this week's Mailbag. Thanks to @KNYT_Hoops, @AndrewA59778512, @BostonKnick, @yer_donnie & @Kennethschiumo for the questions! Full show: https://t.co/FSKhjglxCZ pic.twitter.com/7vD4CcXvoG

— Ian Begley (@IanBegley) December 6, 2022

So is Cam Reddish now trade bait for the New York Knicks?

"What his future is is very unclear," Begley added. "He's going to be a restricted free agent this offseason. I would assume that the Knicks get calls from several teams on Reddish between now and the February trade deadline. Teams that have expressed interest in Reddish in the past since the trade to New York have included the Lakers, the Heat, and the Bucks..."

Reddish is putting up several career-low averages this season with his 8.4 points, 1.6 rebounds, and 1.0 assists in 21.9 minutes per game. The 6-foot-8, 220-pound small forward's 30.4 shooting percentage from downtown is the second lowest in his four seasons as a professional.

That said, across his last four games as a starter before the groin injury, Reddish averaged an encouraging 16.5 points in 32.0 minutes per outing.

Meanwhile, the other Duke basketball product on the New Yorks Knicks' active roster, shooting guard RJ Barrett, has played and drawn a start in all 24 of the team's games this season despite shooting a career-low 28.2 percent beyond the arc.

Barrett, who starred alongside Cam Reddish and Zion Williamson as one-and-done Blue Devils in 2018-19, is averaging 18.4 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 3.0 assists in 33.4 minutes per game.

New York also employs 2021-22 Duke basketball one-and-done Trevor Keels on a two-way contract, but he has seen only one minute of NBA action.

RELATED: List of every Blue Devil currently in the NBA

The Knicks' next game is against the visiting Atlanta Hawks at 7:30 p.m. ET Wednesday.

Stay tuned to Blue Devil Country for daily Duke basketball content.