Atlanta Hawks: Is a Cam Reddish breakout coming in Year 3?
Atlanta Hawks forward Cam Reddish has had a rather noisy offseason for a guy that didn’t even play in Summer League, with the blessing of his team’s front office of course. To be clear, none of it is coming from Reddish himself. Aside from making an appearance on the sidelines in Las Vegas flanked by his teammates, Reddish has been rather quiet.
That hasn’t stopped the rumors from flying around of teams inquiring about the availability of the toolsy wing.
Despite having both of his first two seasons interrupted — first by COVID and then injury — Reddish has been a hot topic on the trade market rumor mill. Could the rest of the league be sensing a breakout on the way from the former Duke Blue Devil?
Cam Reddish could be on the verge of a breakout for the Atlanta Hawks
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Rumors that the Hawks were exploring their options with Reddish surfaced right after their season ended. He averaged 11.2 points and 4.0 rebounds per game this season with 1.3 steals in 26 regular-season games.
He was inefficient though, shooting just 36.5 percent from the floor and 26.2 percent from outside.
Playing in just his fourth game after four months off dealing with an Achilles injury, Reddish went off for 21 points and shot 6-of-7 from beyond the arc in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals.
18 of his points came in the second half, 12 in the third quarter even as the rest of the team went cold and the Bucks pulled away.
He was arguably the best player on the floor for Atlanta in the second half.
Things picked up when it was announced Reddish wouldn’t play in Summer League but his appearance should have quelled the noise.
Nope.
The Cavaliers had reportedly been in contact with the Hawks about Reddish who they liked dating back to the pre-draft process.
The logic was that the Hawks would move him to extend their timeline on controllable assets. But the better question was why teams would be itching for a shot at a player being challenged to be consistent by his team’s general manager?
His 11.2 points and 4.0 boards last season represented an increase but he was less efficient, particularly from distance.
To put it simply, Year 3.
Many believe that is when a player will show you what they are and will be and, for Reddish, that is a multi-positional defender with a still-shaky jumper but that can still take over offensively. With his performance in the deciding game of the Hawks season, Reddish seemed the only one impervious to Trae Young being hobbled.
Young is coming off his third season. His scoring was down but he set a new career-high in assists and you’d be hard-pressed to find anyone who would say it wasn’t his best year to date.
John Collins had a statistical breakout in his third season leading him to bank on himself and land a new $125 million contract this offseason. Kevin Huerter, who was drafted in the same class as Young, looks to be on a similar, albeit less expensive, course.
De’Andre Hunter, taken six picks ahead of Reddish, looked to be ahead of schedule in his development before being taken out by a knee injury. He too is set to have a monster 2021-22 but isn’t getting the type of attention Reddish is on the trade market. This could mean one or more of a few things.
Teams might be wary of Hunter needing to have two surgeries on his meniscus last season. But Reddish is coming off an injury himself. Reports are that the asking price is high (as it should be). Hunter has shown more at the pro level so his price tag may be higher.
Reddish is also nearly two years younger than Hunter despite being drafted in the same year. He was also a five-star recruit, second at his position, and third overall in ESPN’s Top 100.
Hunter was a four-star recruit, 14th at his position, and 73rd overall per ESPN’s Top100.
Next. The Atlanta Hawks have two top-30 free agents in the 2022 class. dark
A cheaper price tag, potentially higher ceiling, and pedigree make it easy to see why teams would be sniffing around Reddish. But the consistency and persistence of these rumors give the impression they sense more. And a year-three breakout seems very much in line with what we’ve seen from the other recent Hawks draft picks.