More details emerge on issues between Cam Reddish, Knicks

Mar 4, 2022; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; New York Knicks forward Cam Reddish (21) against the Phoenix Suns at Footprint Center. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Cam Reddish has not played a single minute of NBA basketball in nearly two months, and now we have a better idea of why that has been the case.

Ian Begley of SportsNet New York shared new details this week on the issues between Reddish and the New York Knicks. Begley reports that, prior to a game against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Dec. 4, Reddish complained to a Knicks assistant about head coach Tom Thibodeau’s usage of him. Reddish had just played the night before against the Dallas Mavericks but did not play against the Cavs that night. He hasn’t played in any game since then either, an absence of 29 straight games and counting.

Begley also notes that the usage of Reddish, who was acquired in a trade with Atlanta last January, was a source of frustration between the Knicks front office and coaching staff dating back to last season. Thibodeau was also reportedly not in favor of acquiring Reddish in the first place.

You can read Begley’s full reporting on the situation here.

It should be noted that Thibodeau made other significant changes to the Knicks lineup before that Dec. 4 game against Cleveland as neither Derrick Rose nor Evan Fournier has been in the rotation since then either. But both those players are in their 30s and have at least gotten some run in garbage time over the last few weeks. The 23-year-old Reddish is not playing at all.

Reddish, an ex-top-ten pick who is long at 6-foot-8 and can score in double figures, is clearly a rotation-caliber player in the NBA. But we already heard rumors of his discontent with the Knicks over the offseason, so both sides would obviously love a split ahead of the Feb. 9 trade deadline.