Atlanta Hawks: 3 most encouraging quotes from media day

Encouraging Atlanta Hawks media day quote No. 2: Cam Reddish puts a number on his health

One of the things the Hawks haven’t been able to shake has been the pesky Cam Reddish trade rumors. They reached a fever pitch around the draft, but have cropped up time and again. Part of that is the Hawks depth. As McMillan said, they are three-deep at every position.

The injuries shouldn’t linger into the season, but that depth will be critical.

That’s why it was great to hear his update on how he’s feeling heading into a pivotal third season.

Reddish missed four months dealing with an Achilles injury last season. He returned to the playoffs and was mostly alright. Except for his 21-point explosion in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals.

It’s been a rough start to a career for Reddish. COVID wrecked his rookie season and injuries have also played their part in both years.

But he’s always flashed the talent that explains both why teams would be pursuing such an unknown commodity and why the Hawks were reportedly steadfast in their asking price. And, for their part, the Hawks have said they want Reddish to be more consistent. He sounded like more of a part of the plans than future trade fodder.

Reddish also said he was working on his jump shot all summer. That should be music to fans’ ears after he shot just 36.5 percent from the floor in his broken season.

After he went 6-for-7 from downtown in that Game 6 performance, he could be in for a big year.

He stands to benefit from all of the injuries along with rookie Jalen Johnson. That is, assuming Reddish does see the floor in their absence and isn’t rested too. But even with them healthy, he should have an increased presence this season now that he is healthy himself.