Report: Cam Reddish Traded to the New York Knicks; and It’s Clear Who the Winner Is

Cam Reddish, who has been in trade talks for a good half of the season, has finally been traded, and his destination is the New York Knicks. In addition to Reddish, the Hawks are sending Solomon Hill and a 2025 second-round pick which previously belonged to the Brooklyn Nets. In return, the Knicks are giving up Kevin Knox II and a 2022 first-round pick that belonged to the Hornets.

The Knicks are clear winners in this trade, and it’s not even close. Reddish’s value has increased drastically this season; just look at this Bleacher Report article about trade targets for every team! He’s on nearly every team’s list! Reddish is averaging 11.9 points, 2.5 rebounds, 1.1 assists, and 1.0 steals per game, while shooting 40.2% from the field and a career-high 37.9% from three. Reddish would be averaging better numbers than this, but he’s subjected to 23.4 minutes per game on average, as the Hawks are loaded at the wings position. Bogdan Bogdanovic, John Collins, Danilo Gallinari, Solomon Hill, De’Andre Hunter, Jalen Johnson, Cameron Oliver, and Justin Tillman are all forwards, and because they have way too much depth at the wing positions, it makes sense for the Hawks to try and acquire talent while getting better players in return. Reddish made the Hawks’ job easier for them, recently scoring 30+ points in back to back games and showing that he has a high upside as a wing defender. The return they got for him, on the other hand, is laughable.

While Reddish is beginning to establish himself as an NBA wing, Knox has been doing the opposite. In his rookie season with the Knicks, Knox showed potential while playing small forward, averaging 12.8 points per game on decent shooting. He’s only regressed since then, and it’s clear Tom Thibodeau doesn’t trust Knox in his lineups, only giving him 8.5 minutes per game on average. In those 8.5 minutes, Knox averages 3.6 points, 1.7 rebounds, and 0.2 assists per game. To make matters even worse, Knox is a 6’8″ small forward! Reddish is also a 6’8″ small forward, and they’re both 22 years old. Getting Knox isn’t helping the Hawks’ depth issue; it’s just giving them a poor-man’s Reddish.

In addition, that 2022 first round pick that the Hawks are getting? It originally belonged to Charlotte, and if I’m not mistaken, it’s top 18 protected, meaning that if the Hawks do get the pick, it will have to be somewhere between 19-30. The chances of getting a player that can turn into a future All-Star at that level in the draft are extremely low, even if the Hawks do everything pre-draft perfectly. If they’re lucky, that pick will turn into a decent contributor off the bench.

Throw in the fact that the Hawks also sent a solid role player in Hill and a second round pick in addition to the Knicks, and the Hawks have clearly lost this trade. Maybe this is compensation for Trae Young destroying the Julius Randle-led Knicks in the first round of last year. Maybe there’s another deal in place that I’m unaware of, or certain things just didn’t work out for Atlanta like they thought they would. I’m not behind the scenes and I don’t know what’s going on, but based off of the data that I have, this trade is a clear win for the Knicks; and it’s not even close.

What are your thoughts on this trade? Let me know in the comments below, don’t forget to follow the NBA Blog, and as always, have an awesome day!