With Cam Reddish whisked away to the New York Knicks, reports now reveal that the Los Angeles Lakers tried — and failed — to court him away from Atlanta.
Although Ben Simmons has taken up the NBA news cycle with his desire for a high-value trade, it seems that Cam Reddish quietly did the same in Atlanta.
According to The Athletic, Reddish no longer wanted to be the team and requested a trade several months ago. “Most players knew he didn’t want to be there, which led to awkwardness inside the locker room,” sources said.
Reddish has been available since the last NBA draft, but like the Philadelphia 76ers, the Atlanta Hawks were holding out for the right price. For them, it was a draft spot near where they drafted Reddish at No. 10, but a deal never materialized, so the Hawks waited. According to sources, the team fielded offers from the Indiana Pacers, Cleveland Cavaliers, Detroit Pistons and Los Angeles Lakers.
While the Lakers offered two second-round picks, the Hawks waited for the Knicks to offer their first-round pick from a trade with Charlotte. The Knicks won out, and all other competing teams lost their chance to snag Reddish.
Cam Reddish could have been a Laker if Los Angeles gave up more in proposed trade
According to The Athletic, it was an “open secret” that Reddish wanted out of Atlanta because he thought his career trajectory was limited there.
This puts the Reddish trade into more perspective, as many Hawks fans were confused in the aftermath of the announcement that New York swindled Atlanta for Reddish. It appears there was no future there for Reddish, so the Hawks spent several months working out the best trade deal they could for him.
However, the Lakers may have lost out in missing out on the Reddish deal. The team is razor thin at forward this year, with Anthony Davis injured, LeBron James holding down center, and Trevor Ariza has been struggling. In refusing to budge, the Lakers could have missed out on someone who could have been a difference-maker in the playoffs — but there’s not much else they could have done.
Unlike the Knicks and other NBA teams, the Lakers have compromised their first-round picks until 2027 due to their Anthony Davis trade. While Davis was worth the capital, it’s also costing the Lakers on mid-season trades that could transform their team. And since Rich Paul is Reddish’s agent, it isn’t hard to imagine that he would have tried to work out a Lakers deal in the offseason.