Knicks trade for Reddish

NEW YORK – The New York Knicks are a Zion Williamson away from turning into the orange and blue devils. 

On Thursday (Friday, Manila time), the Knicks acquired Cam Reddish from the Atlanta Hawks, reuniting him with his college teammate RJ Barrett. 

The trade, first reported by ESPN, came one night after Barrett continued his ascent as one of the league’s rising stars with his second straight 30-point game to complete a Texas twin kill at home. 

Barrett followed up his 31-point effort against the San Antonio Spurs with 32 against Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks in a 113-85 blowout win Wednesday night (Thursday Manila time).  

The Knicks’ fifth straight win at the Madison Square Garden allowed them to get back to .500, matching their 21-21 record after 42 games last season. 

At 21 years and 212 days, Barrett became the youngest Knick to record back-to-back 30-point games, eclipsing the record held by former franchise cornerstone and current Maverick Kristaps Porzingis. 

The Latvian big man missed the game due to the league’s health and safety protocols. Porzingis was traded to Dallas before Barrett arrived in New York as the no. 3 overall selection in 2019. 

After the Knicks’ fourth win in their last five games, more help is on the way to bolster their suddenly stacked wing rotation. 

Reddish is going to the Knicks along with the injured Solomon Hill and a 2025 second-round pick (via Brooklyn) in exchange for Kevin Knox and a 2022 heavily protected first-round pick (via Charlotte). 

The Hornets’ pick is top-18 protected in 2022, top-16 in 2023, and top-14 in 2024 and 2025. If it is not conveyed until 2025, it will turn into second-round picks in 2026 and 2027.

Williamson, Barrett, and Reddish formed Duke’s Big 3 during their ACC championship run in the 2018-19 college season. They all entered the NBA Draft in 2019, with Williamson and Barrett going no. 1 and no. 3 while Reddish was selected at no. 10 as part of the Trae Young-Doncic swap. 

An underutilized talented wing, Reddish is averaging a career-best 11.1 points on 38 percent shooting from the three-point range despite playing in a career-low 23.4 minutes this season. He is coming off a pair of 30-point games in December before an ankle injury slowed him down. 

Barrett is also on a tear with his third 30-point game in the last two weeks and sixth in his young career. The Knicks are 6-0 when Barrett scores 30 or more.  

“There’s no ceiling on what he can do,” Evan Fournier said of Barrett. “When he scores on all three levels, he becomes less predictable.”

Barrett did just like that. He scored in a myriad of ways – from catch-and-shoot 3s, mid-range jumpers, pullups to his signature strong drives. A breakaway double-clutch reverse dunk in the fourth quarter punctuated his offensive masterclass.

SHOWTIME. pic.twitter.com/rIbuwAa6wh

— NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) January 13, 2022

Barrett overcame a poor start (1 of 5 from the field) and finished on a high note, sinking 12 of his next 17 shots. He also made 4 of 7 three-point shots while adding four assists, three rebounds, and one block in just 31 minutes. 

“With the way [Barrett] played in the second half, it was tough on us,” said acting Mavericks coach Sean Sweeney, who filled in for Jason Kidd (health and safety protocols) for the third straight game. 

The loss snapped the Mavericks’ six-game winning streak, their longest since 2016. 

Barrett had a lot to do with that. He was spectacular in the second half, dropping 17 of his total points in an efficient 7 of 11 shooting. Then he doubled down on his preseason goal to become a two-way force in the league. 

On defense, the Knicks’ third-year wing also helped clipped Doncic, who was limited to 21 points on a dismal 8 of 23 shooting from the floor. Barrett held the Mavericks to 3 of 11 shooting with him as a primary defender, including 2 of 8 from Doncic, according to ESPN Stats & Info. 

“RJ is steady. He never gets too high. He never gets too low. He’s putting in a lot of extra work right now. He’s coming back at night, and I think that’s a big factor,” New York coach Tom Thibodeau said. 

It is unclear what is going to be Reddish’s role under Thibodeau, but his familiarity with Barrett will undoubtedly help ease his transition in New York. 

The Knicks essentially exchanged Knox’s expiring salary for Reddish, who has two years left on his rookie deal. It’s a low-risk, high-reward move. 

A former lottery pick, Knox did not crack Thibodeau’s rotation since the defensive guru took over as the Knicks head coach last season. One of the biggest knocks on Knox is his lack of defensive motor. 

Perhaps a change of environment will help Knox get his career on track in the final half of a make-or-break contract year. 

Meanwhile, the move that reunited Barrett and Reddish in New York will only make the Williamson rumblings in New Orleans grow even louder. 

It is an open secret that Williamson loves New York. There were multiple occasions when Williamson openly professed his devotion to the Madison Square Garden, the mecca of basketball, since the pre-draft in 2019.  

"I'm glad you asked that, actually. New York is the mecca of basketball. I love playing here." - Zion Williamson ????

(via @YourAverageKel, h/t @Kazeem) pic.twitter.com/Gemwxd3jOk

— Knicks Videos (@sny_knicks) April 18, 2021

Williamson is still rehabbing from the foot injury that has sidelined him since the start of the season. Like Barrett and Reddish, Williamson is also extension-eligible after this season. 

It will be an unprecedented move if Williamson turns down a supermax extension and sign a qualifying offer that will make him a restricted free agent in 2023. 

The next two summers will be interesting for the former Duke Big 3. 

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Alder Almo is a former senior sportswriter for Philstar.com and NBA.com Philippines. He is now based in Jersey City, New Jersey, and writes for the New York-based sports website empiresportsmedia.com.