'Nothing Like That!': Cam Reddish Denies Asking Knicks For Trade
Will he stay or will he go? If it's up to Cam Reddish, he's hoping for the former.
The second-year New York Knick took the aftermath of Wednesday's blowout victory over the Atlanta Hawks to deny rumors of a requested trade, which appeared to coincide with his apparent removal from head coach Tom Thibodeau's nine-man rotation. Having previously earned the shooting guard spot in the Knicks' starting five for eight games, Reddish has not appeared in either of the Knicks' last two games, including the visit from his original NBA employers on Wednesday.
In spite of all that, however, Reddish doesn't want to go anywhere, even as rumors of rising trade partners and his representatives collaborating with Knicks management surfaced this week.
“I haven’t requested any trades. I have not,” Reddish declared with a smile. “You all seem to know more than me, for real. I don’t know what you're all talking about, but I haven’t requested a trade, nothing like that.”
The latest denial from Reddish partly mirrors his most recent offseason trials, where he took to the Instagram comment section to deny he was looking for an escape from New York.
Reddish found a bit of a groove in the early portions of the season: he opened the year with a 22-point showing off the bench and sank a late equalizer that forced overtime in the Knicks' debut in Memphis. Upon insertion into the starting five (replacing opening day man and long-exiled Evan Fournier), Reddish had double-figure showings in four consecutive games and also left a noticeable impression on defense before leaving Nov. 18's loss in Golden State with a sore groin that kept him out for three games.
That ailment has appeared to have partly derailed his season: Reddish's starting spot has been since usurped by Quentin Grimes and his de facto banishment came after playing only nine minutes in a blowout loss to Dallas last weekend. In that span, Reddish was 0-of-4 from the field and lost three turnovers in an all-around dismal defensive effort for New York.
Reddish didn't opt to get into the specifics of his own exile, which has also removed previous regulars like Derrick Rose.
“My role, all that stuff, isn’t necessarily up to me. I’m just coming in and doing what I’m told to do," Reddish said. "I’ll roll with what Coach says, and that’s that.”
While there's been no secret about Reddish's apparent struggle to win over Thibodeau, injuries have also partly defined his time in New York. Last season's brief tour after he came over in a January trade with Atlanta was limited to 15 games thanks to right shoulder woes.
With the Knicks (12-13) declining to grant Reddish his fourth-year extension over the offseason, the top-ten pick may be playing for the broader scope of his professional career. It's possible his opportunity could rise with Julius Randle's primary spell option Obi Toppin out of commission for at least two weeks.
Time will only tell if it's truly his last chance, one that p
Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags
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