8 Players the Atlanta Hawks gave up on too soon

6. Cam Reddish

Sometimes in the NBA, there are players that seem to have all the talent in the world, but just can not find adequate playing time to let their talent shine. This is certainly more common with younger players, and oftentimes it seems that if those players could just see the floor more consistently, their skill would immediately become evident and they would flourish.

Such is the story of Cam Reddish. While it remains to be seen if these assumptions about him are all true, he has certainly had a lack of opportunity in his career thus far. After being drafted by the Hawks in 2019, Reddish spent two and a half seasons in Atlanta while receiving inconsistent playing time throughout his tenure there.

His rookie season saw him earn a starting role in around half the Hawks’ games, while achieving a double-figure scoring average for the season. The thing that plagued Reddish the most in Atlanta was shooting inconsistency, as he shot below 40% from the field in his first two seasons.

In Reddish’s third season, his playing time decreased leading up to his January 2022 trade to the New York Knicks. Under head coach Tom Thibodeau, he saw the floor even less before missing the final month of the season with a shoulder injury.

Heading into 2022-23, Reddish was seeing the floor sporadically until Thibodeau decided to remove him from his rotation entirely. He was traded to Portland at the February 2023 deadline, where he has been able to find more of a consistent role.

It is understandable for a young player like Reddish to struggle with scoring efficiently at times, especially considering the limited role he has operated in for the majority of his young career. Reddish is still extremely athletic and has shown flashes of being a great shooter. Time will tell all,  but there is certainly a chance the Atlanta Hawks will wish they had been more patient with Cam Reddish.