Cam Reddish on time with Knicks: ‘It was tough but at the same time, it ain’t even about basketball’
Cam Reddish spent most of his time in New York on the bench, a former lottery pick with a career that was derailing on a team and coach of ill fit.
But as the 23-year-old was losing a season to DNPs, Reddish took solace in his belief that the benching wasn’t about basketball.
“It was tough but at the same time, it ain’t even about basketball,” Reddish told the Daily News. “It had nothing to do with basketball. It was all the politics, all the favoritism. S—t like that. That’s why I wasn’t too worried about it.”
Reddish didn’t expand on his answer. As the Blazers wing outlined in the interview, he has good reasons to focus on the future, rather than look back at his frustrations with the Knicks and Tom Thibodeau.
Since he was swapped last month for Josh Hart, Reddish has been a consistent part of Portland’s rotation while averaging 30.1 minutes and 13.8 points. He stepped into a starting role because of injuries and earned the trust of coach Chauncey Billups, who said of Reddish, “I always thought he was very talented but he’s even more talented than I thought.”
“They put a reputation on you [when you get traded twice like Reddish]. What’s wrong? Why is he going from team to team without getting an opportunity?” Damian Lillard said. “You just don’t know what goes on behind closed doors until you become attached to the situation and it’s our job to encourage him, to speak life into him. Things change and you start to see who they really are.”
On Friday, Reddish scored 14 points in 35 minutes in a nail-biting loss to the Sixers, the seventh time in the last nine games he played over 30 minutes. This is after 33 consecutive DNPs to end his Knicks career.
“I’m in a completely different place. Now I’m blessed. Not everybody gets another opportunity so it’s refreshing,” said Reddish, the 10th overall pick in 2019. “I got some great teammates. Great staff. It’s real positive around here. Win, lose or draw. It’s not somebody beating you over your head — not that that was happening in New York — but it’s more my style.”
Reddish hinted that Thibodeau’s impatience affected his confidence. With some other players like Obi Toppin, Thibodeau has been quick to sub out after a mistake.
“I can shoot a shot — and in New York, I feel like I HAD to make it,” Reddish, who will face the Knicks on Tuesday in Portland, said. “I know I’m not the only person that felt like that.
“I was putting too much pressure on myself. Now I can relax and play my game. You’re going to see it. The more I’m on the court, the more I’m going to grow and play. I’m happy.”
Trading Reddish also worked out for the Knicks, who won their first nine games with Hart in the rotation. But Reddish’s one-year tenure in New York isn’t easily thrown away. The Knicks traded a first-round pick to acquire him from the Hawks last season. Then after Reddish’s value tanked with the Knicks, team president Leon Rose had to attach another first-round pick to send him to the Blazers for Hart.
Reddish, a free agent after the season, understood quickly that the Knicks had no plans for him. He played just 35 games in 1 ½ seasons, which was highlighted by a brief stint as the starting small forward in November.
“I knew that coming in. I knew there wasn’t really a plan,” Reddish said. “What am I going to do? Complain about it? No, I was going to make the most of it. I still became a starter at the end of the day. And I just tried to do what I could do with what I was given. And it didn’t necessarily work out..”
Hoping to resuscitate his career, Reddish said he anticipated a trade last month but wasn’t sure as the deadline neared.
“I had an idea. I didn’t know. The way I was being dealt with, the way I was being treated, I didn’t think I was going to get an opportunity,” Reddish said. “So I was happy and appreciative of it. So I kind of expected it. My agent told me to expect it. But like I said, it was getting late. So I was thinking, I don’t know, I might have to do something else or stick it out to the end.”
Asked about rumors of a conflict with Thibodeau, Reddish said he didn’t communicate enough with the coach to know if there were problems.
“I never really talk to Thibs like that. I don’t know,” Reddish said. “And I don’t really care. I’m here (in Portland) now. I’m trying to put that in the past. Those were lower times in my career so it’s whatever.”
Now he’s now in a better place — almost 3,000 miles away in Portland — and both sides have been better off.
“Refreshing,” Reddish said. “Refreshing and fun.”
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