Hawks’ former top-10 pick agrees to join LeBron James, Lakers

Former Atlanta Hawks wing Cameron Reddish is taking his talents to Hollywood, agreeing to a two-year, $4.6 million pact to join LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers on June 30, per Shams Charania of The Athletic.

The Hawks have had a lot of talented players filter through the organization over the
years and the last few years have been no different.

Scouting, drafting, and developing players requires a lot more nuance and front office types are rarely going to admit defeat ahead of time. That’s why talented players, especially those with a first-round pedigree seemingly get opportunity after opportunity while your favorite G League veteran toils away in anonymity despite possibly being the steadier option.

Albeit one with a lower ceiling.

Reddish, 23, certainly falls within the former category: a former top-10 pick (2019) going on his fourth NBA team and still looking to make good on the loads of talent he possesses after the Hawks granted his trade request to the New York Knicks in 2021

He was traded for forward Kevin Knox and a lottery-protected first-round pick. The Hawks let Knox, 23, walk after the 2021-22 season while he and Reddish were teammates on the Portland Trail Blazers this past season. Atlanta used the draft pick as part of the package to acquire Dejounte Murray from the San Antonio Spurs.

Reddish averaged 9.7 points this past season – split between the Blazers and Knicks – which was a career low.

But he averaged 11.0 points in 20 appearances for Portland, his best since he was a Hawk.

There was never any question that Reddish has the talent to live up to his top-10 billing. His own wishes for a fresh start even outweighed his propensity to freelance in Atlanta and led to the trade, not the other way around meaning he could be a lottery ticket if things ever click.

Former Hawks wing joins NBA champion Nuggets

Not to be outdone, former Hawks wing Justin Holiday agreed to a one-year deal with the NBA champion Denver Nuggets, per ESPN NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski.

Acquired in the trade that sent former No. 19 overall pick (2018) Kevin Huerter to the Sacramento Kings last offseason, Holiday, 34, averaged 4.5 points in 28 appearances with the Hawks before his second Hawks stint ended in a trade to the Houston Rockets along with Frank Kaminsky for Bruno Fernando and Garrison Mathews, both of whom are still with Atlanta.

Holiday was waived by Houston and finished the regular season with the Dallas Mavericks.

The Nuggets will be Holiday’s 10th team since entering the NBA as an undrafted free agent in 2012-13. In addition to the Hawks, Kings, Mavericks, and now Nuggets (he never suited up for Houston), Holiday has played for the Chicago Bulls, Golden State Warriors, Indiana Pacers, Memphis Grizzlies, the Knicks, and the Philadelphia 76ers.

The Hawks’ bench – and roster overall will be younger next season with only Bogdan Bogdanovic (31) set to be even 30 years old by the start of next season.

Veteran Rudy Gay, 36, is on the roster but is unlikely to play for Atlanta leaving Murray, 26, as the next oldest player on the team.