Recent reports doing the rounds suggest that New York Knicks star Cam Reddish wants to leave the Madison Square Garden team, with a move to the Los Angeles Lakers apparently being the most likely route he might take. This is particularly surprising as the Knicks have been doing particularly well this season and Reddish has been a big part of that.
After all, the 23-year-old only moved to the MSG in January, along with Solomon Hill, from the Atlanta Hawks, and has made just 15 appearances for the team since doing so. He has had a strong showing in those games but Cam’s progress was hampered by a torn shoulder, and now Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau is considering his options.
Quite what happened is anyone’s guess but it’s a move that comes as a major surprise to fans and by the team management too. And the team too, is reportedly thrown by this sudden shift from one of their newest star players. Reddish leaving would be no deathblow, though, for the team as The Knicks might look to such a deal that might boost their roster as they chase only a second run to the postseason since 2013. What that roster will look like is very much up in the air right now but it will be interesting regardless of what actually happens with the team.
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So why, exactly, is Reddish so keen to leave and his team so willing to let him go? A big reason for the trade, according to the New York Post, is the fact that the Knicks simply don’t exactly know how to use Reddish to best effect;
“The Knicks didn’t have a plan for him,”
“They traded for him without one and still don’t have one. He would like a bigger opportunity somewhere.”
As for Reddish himself, there are several possible reasons behind his wish to move on. It doesn’t seem like there is any bad blood between Reddish and his new team, but clearly something isn’t quite clicking between them and he’s using this opportunity to up his game. A move to the Lakers is, after all, no doubt fuelled by the fact that Reddish has the same agent as Los Angeles big hitters LeBron James and Anthony Davis, and presumably his agent has convinced him that siding with the legendary Los Angeles team will only help him reach the highs that he has set for himself, and the Lakers probably will have a better idea of what to actually do with him. Indeed a move for the undoubtedly talented 23-year-old could be a solid move to make.
Now, it’s true, while The Knicks have had an incredible reversal in fortune of late, the same certainly can’t be said for the world-famous LA side, who have, frankly speaking, seldom been worse than they have been over the past season. The Los Angeles Lakers endured a horrific season last time around, and it cost coach Frank Vogel his job and his replacement, Darvin Ham, looks keen to freshen things up, and one likely departure may come in the form of Russell Westbrook who didn’t exactly cover himself in glory during his debut season at the Crypto.com Arena. An up and comer like Reddish, fresh off playing with a reinvigorated Knicks can actually be precisely what the struggling team actually needs right now.
For his part, Reddish has moved to quash trade rumors about any talks with the Lakers’ management or that he is even thinking of leaving his still new team, but not in any way that would certainly end that talk. He’s clearly very keen to leave his options as wide open as he possibly could at this juncture in his career. As well as reported interest from the Lakers, it appears that the Cleveland Cavaliers are also interested in the young talent.
The Cavs aren’t the team they were when LeBron James was taking them on a dream run, but they are starting to show green shoots of recovery and have already moved to bring in Donovan Mitchell from the Utah Jazz, so maybe Reddish is another piece in their ongoing jigsaw puzzle.
The Cavs certainly don’t have the cultural cache of the Lakers and it may be a lateral move from the Knicks and their current run of excellent sportsmanship, but it’s not actually that simple. Indeed considering just how much things are up inn the air right now in the sport, a move to Cleveland may actually be preferable to joining a Lakers side that is stuttering. Especially for someone looking to prove themselves.
Mind you, just because the Cavs have been on the up and up of late, doesn’t change that their track record from the past half a decade has been anything to boast about. Very from it, if we’re being honest here. The Cavaliers, after all, appeared in four straight NBA finals between 2014-15 and 2017-18, losing three of the clashes with the Golden State Warriors and winning the other, and then followed that up with three losing seasons. As track records go, this certainly isn’t the best.
And yet, things do seem to have changed for them as last time around, they showed real improvement, finishing 2024-22 with a 44-38 record, which got them to the play-in tournament. There is real excitement around the team right now and Reddish may well be wise to strike while the iron is hot.