Before the NBA trade deadline, the Atlanta Hawks were listening to trade offers on Cam Reddish, and they’re still listening to them now heading into the 2021 NBA Draft on Thursday.
NBA executives said they expect the Hawks to explore restarting the cycle of one of their rookie scale contract players, such as Cam Reddish, in exchange for a first-round pick, according to a report by ESPN.
Hawks’ general manager, Travis Schlenk, has drafted so well over the past four years that it’s become a problem, but a good problem at that. The belief is that Atlanta will be unable to pay all of their young wing players in the coming years, which is somewhat true considering their depth.
With De’Andre Hunter, Bogdan Bogdanovic, and Kevin Huerter all under contract, Reddish is fourth in the current wing rotation. That’s not even including the playing time for Danilo Gallinari who saw some time at the three in Atlanta’s playoff run.
If the Hawks do decide to trade Reddish, it’d give them two additional years where they wouldn’t have to worry about his next contract extension.
The Hawks will likely not only want a late lottery to mid-first round pick but possibly a young player they can stash in exchange for Reddish. Atlanta could also package Reddish in a deal for a star like Bradley Beal, who they can place next to Trae Young.
Since his high school days, Reddish has shown flashes of his potential but wasn’t able to put it all together in his lone season at Duke and has continued his inconsistencies in the NBA. Throughout his two NBA seasons, he’s shot a career 37.8% from the field but has become one of the best young defenders in the NBA. Entering his third year in the league, the 22-year-old remains a question mark with the possibility of becoming the next Paul George, but also could end up as the next Rodney Hood.
Due to Achilles soreness, Reddish missed 46 games this season, yet appeared in three games for Atlanta in the Eastern Conference Finals against the Milwaukee Bucks. Over those three games, he performed well on both sides of the ball, especially in Game 6.
Reddish scored 21 points on 7-for-12 shooting from the field, including 6-for-7 from three-point range in the game. The Hawks would fall short, losing the game and series, but he single-handedly tried to bring Atlanta back after facing a 22-point deficit in the third quarter.
“I see a lot of Paul George in Cam — his length, his ability to defend. Working on his offensive game, he shot the ball well, shooting the 3, as well as putting the ball on the floor getting to the basket,” said Hawks coach Nate McMillan. “Kind of the makeup is really similar. He showed that he has a lot of potential. So that’s a talented player.”
Considering the current structure of the roster, the Hawks are certainly in no rush to trade Reddish and have an ample amount of time to decide on his future.
As a reminder, Reddish was selected with the No. 10 overall pick (via the Mavs) in the 2019 NBA Draft.
The Hawks acquired that pick through the renowned Trae Young and Luka Doncic trade that happened on draft night in 2018. Even though it’s become one of the more even trades in recent NBA history, the potential assets from a Reddish trade will directly affect the legacy of the Doncic and Young deal.
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