TyusStones5
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Why can this shithead play well with John Collins but couldn’t even dribble when he was on the same team as Zion?
Player Cameron Reddish
- Thread starter torontoduke
- Start date
rome8180
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- Oct 8, 2012
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Vecenie on Reddish. He has Reddish as the #3 prospect on the #4 team in the prospect rankings. Reddish is ahead of Huerter and Hunter, but behind Young and Collins.
3. Cam Reddish, W | 20 years old | Four years, $19.3 million, last two years team option
2019-20 stats: 10.5 points, 3.5 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 1.1 steals, 38.4/33.2/80.2
Reddish had a fascinating year. He started the season getting a ton of minutes, but unfortunately was performing pretty darn close to unplayable during those minutes for the first half. And really, it’s not a massive surprise that there would be early struggles. Reddish was long seen as one of the elite prospects in his age group. He was a consensus top-three recruit in 2018. Before The Athletic even existed in 2017, I identified him as a potential top overall pick in the 2019 draft if he would really be willing to focus on ironing out the focus and inefficiencies of his game. But those aren’t concerns that tend to lead to immediate success. At that time, he looked like a potential lead ballhandling point forward who could turn into the big wing that every team is looking for in today’s NBA. But it was going to take a lot of growth, and that growth hasn’t come so far. He went to Duke, was consigned to more of a spot-up role next to R.J. Barrett and Zion Williamson, not getting many more opportunities than just catch-and-shoots or getting out in transition.
But here is the thing: while that limited role resulted in him tumbling a touch from his lofty perch as a consensus top-three prospect in the 2018 recruiting class down to No. 10 overall, I think it actually helped his long-term NBA career. Reddish had to learn how to move without the ball, get free, play harder and make an impact without the ball in his hands regularly.
Off the bat, I thought Reddish was actually pretty solid on defense. He took on some difficult tasks, and while he wasn’t totally prepared for the NBA, I thought he did a nice job in terms of using his length and mobility to pester opponents. His effort level was quite strong on that end, too. He displayed much stronger anticipation and reactivity than what you’d expect from a rookie still adapting to the league. I don’t think he’s going to turn into one of the five or so best defenders on the wing, but he’s already a positive force there and should keep getting better.
The bigger questions came on offense early on. Reddish went through a disastrous, prolonged shooting slump to begin his career, the likes of which I can’t really remember from a top-10 pick. Through his first 32 games (basically the entirety of the 2019 portion of the season), he shot a terrible 31.8 percent from the field and 26 percent from 3. His assist-to-turnover ratio was quite negative. Everything looked like it was moving way too fast for him. He struggled to attack off the bounce when he got an opportunity to attack closeouts. It didn’t seem like he understood totally yet how to anticipate when his shot was going to be open, or when the shooting window was going to close quickly. That led to a performance that saw him look like one of the worst players in the NBA until the calendar turned.
But then a funny thing happened: Reddish started to figure things out. He looked a lot more comfortable on the court. The shot didn’t look as sped up, and it started falling at a rate more commensurate with how clean his mechanics look. He looked more comfortable grabbing the ball and going on after a rebound. His body was much more under control attacking closeouts. His comfort level handling the ball in tight spaces, and using his frame to shield the ball from defenders was much better. Instead of trying to make everything happen at once, he slowed down and started to attack with purpose and in a manner that should give him better long-term success. In the Hawks’ last 21 games, he averaged 14.6 points and four rebounds on 47 percent shooting from the field and 41.7 percent from 3.
The thing that has always been overstated about Reddish has been his explosiveness. He’s never really been all that athletic vertically, and his first step isn’t awesome. Rather, he’s always excelled with his body control, reactivity and lateral quickness. That’s why I’ve always seen him as more of an awesome 3-and-D-plus type player who should be able to attack closeouts. Therefore, that ability to play at a strong pace while navigating space in the midrange is going to be essential to his development. That he’s already seemingly figured a big portion of it out is enormous for his future, although it’s worth noting that this was only 20 games.
Ultimately, Reddish’s future value is going to come down to where he settles in as a jump shooter. On the full season, he hit 33.2 percent. If he can get up to being a consistent 38 percent 3-point shooter at volume — something that is well within his potential outcomes due to his clean mechanics and touch, he’s going to be an extremely effective player who starts a lot of games in his NBA career. I don’t quite think he’s a future All-Star or anything, but the last six weeks of his season gave me a lot of confidence that he’s going to be very good, and he has a good chance to provide an impact that actually helps teams win games due to his ability to dribble, make decisions without turning it over, shoot it and defend. He’s the kind of player the Hawks need more of because of the two-way prowess.
3. Cam Reddish, W | 20 years old | Four years, $19.3 million, last two years team option
2019-20 stats: 10.5 points, 3.5 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 1.1 steals, 38.4/33.2/80.2
Reddish had a fascinating year. He started the season getting a ton of minutes, but unfortunately was performing pretty darn close to unplayable during those minutes for the first half. And really, it’s not a massive surprise that there would be early struggles. Reddish was long seen as one of the elite prospects in his age group. He was a consensus top-three recruit in 2018. Before The Athletic even existed in 2017, I identified him as a potential top overall pick in the 2019 draft if he would really be willing to focus on ironing out the focus and inefficiencies of his game. But those aren’t concerns that tend to lead to immediate success. At that time, he looked like a potential lead ballhandling point forward who could turn into the big wing that every team is looking for in today’s NBA. But it was going to take a lot of growth, and that growth hasn’t come so far. He went to Duke, was consigned to more of a spot-up role next to R.J. Barrett and Zion Williamson, not getting many more opportunities than just catch-and-shoots or getting out in transition.
But here is the thing: while that limited role resulted in him tumbling a touch from his lofty perch as a consensus top-three prospect in the 2018 recruiting class down to No. 10 overall, I think it actually helped his long-term NBA career. Reddish had to learn how to move without the ball, get free, play harder and make an impact without the ball in his hands regularly.
Off the bat, I thought Reddish was actually pretty solid on defense. He took on some difficult tasks, and while he wasn’t totally prepared for the NBA, I thought he did a nice job in terms of using his length and mobility to pester opponents. His effort level was quite strong on that end, too. He displayed much stronger anticipation and reactivity than what you’d expect from a rookie still adapting to the league. I don’t think he’s going to turn into one of the five or so best defenders on the wing, but he’s already a positive force there and should keep getting better.
The bigger questions came on offense early on. Reddish went through a disastrous, prolonged shooting slump to begin his career, the likes of which I can’t really remember from a top-10 pick. Through his first 32 games (basically the entirety of the 2019 portion of the season), he shot a terrible 31.8 percent from the field and 26 percent from 3. His assist-to-turnover ratio was quite negative. Everything looked like it was moving way too fast for him. He struggled to attack off the bounce when he got an opportunity to attack closeouts. It didn’t seem like he understood totally yet how to anticipate when his shot was going to be open, or when the shooting window was going to close quickly. That led to a performance that saw him look like one of the worst players in the NBA until the calendar turned.
But then a funny thing happened: Reddish started to figure things out. He looked a lot more comfortable on the court. The shot didn’t look as sped up, and it started falling at a rate more commensurate with how clean his mechanics look. He looked more comfortable grabbing the ball and going on after a rebound. His body was much more under control attacking closeouts. His comfort level handling the ball in tight spaces, and using his frame to shield the ball from defenders was much better. Instead of trying to make everything happen at once, he slowed down and started to attack with purpose and in a manner that should give him better long-term success. In the Hawks’ last 21 games, he averaged 14.6 points and four rebounds on 47 percent shooting from the field and 41.7 percent from 3.
The thing that has always been overstated about Reddish has been his explosiveness. He’s never really been all that athletic vertically, and his first step isn’t awesome. Rather, he’s always excelled with his body control, reactivity and lateral quickness. That’s why I’ve always seen him as more of an awesome 3-and-D-plus type player who should be able to attack closeouts. Therefore, that ability to play at a strong pace while navigating space in the midrange is going to be essential to his development. That he’s already seemingly figured a big portion of it out is enormous for his future, although it’s worth noting that this was only 20 games.
Ultimately, Reddish’s future value is going to come down to where he settles in as a jump shooter. On the full season, he hit 33.2 percent. If he can get up to being a consistent 38 percent 3-point shooter at volume — something that is well within his potential outcomes due to his clean mechanics and touch, he’s going to be an extremely effective player who starts a lot of games in his NBA career. I don’t quite think he’s a future All-Star or anything, but the last six weeks of his season gave me a lot of confidence that he’s going to be very good, and he has a good chance to provide an impact that actually helps teams win games due to his ability to dribble, make decisions without turning it over, shoot it and defend. He’s the kind of player the Hawks need more of because of the two-way prowess.