Knicks' Cam Reddish says he has no control over playing time
Cam Reddish of the New York Knicks against the Philadelphia 76ers at Wells Fargo Center on November 4, 2022. Credit: Getty Images
It was perhaps a sad reminder for Cam Reddish, sitting on the bench Wednesday night with the Atlanta Hawks on the other side. It was less than a year ago that Reddish had asked out of Atlanta, seeking an opportunity for a larger role. And now, he found himself with no role at all.
Reddish was pulled from the rotation Sunday after a lackluster seven-minute performance Saturday against Dallas. He has seen his role shift this season but had emerged as a key piece, starting eight straight games and in one four game stretch averaging 32.1 minutes per game.
But a groin injury sidelined him at the same time Quentin Grimes was ready to step into the starting role that he had been expected to grab. And now, he was on the outside looking in — and looking for another opportunity elsewhere.
“My reaction? I don’t really have a reaction,” Reddish said after the Knicks win over Atlanta. “It’s not in my control. No reaction . . . Yeah, man, I guess that’s just how it goes. Like I said, I got no control over that. I just come to work every day, just like y’all. Do my job, and hey man, it’s just the result.”
Reddish said he has not asked for a trade, but a report in the NY Daily News Wednesday said that his representatives are working with the Knicks to find a new home for him. He did that in Atlanta last season and wound up in New York when they were the only ones willing to meet the asking price of a first-round pick.
“It’s the nature of the beast, I guess,” he said. “I’m learning. It’s my fourth year, and I’m learning a lot of the business early. I guess it is what it is, and I’ll roll with what Coach says, and that’s that.”
“Y’all seem to know more than me, for real. I don’t know what y’all talking about, but I haven’t requested no trade, nothing like that. But I guess reports gonna keep on reporting. I’m at the house just chilling.”
Reddish showed improvement this season from the player who arrived in New York, but the team has shown a desire to focus on the defensive side of the ball and despite that improvement he is not the player Grimes is defensively.
“I was doing what I could to the best of my ability on both sides of the floor,” Reddish said. “I’m gonna say it again, all of the other stuff is out of my control, whether I’m doing this or doing that on the floor, my role, all that stuff, isn’t necessarily up to me. I’m just coming in and doing what I’m told to do.
“I mean, (my play has been) up and down. Just like everything else, just up and down. I just try to make the most of my opportunity while I was out there. And that’s that.”
Steve Popper covers the Knicks for Newsday. He has spent nearly three decades covering the Knicks and the NBA, along with just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
