“Chances are, Reddish slides in somewhere onto the bench — though working through the team’s rotation right now is a puzzle.
The Knicks acquired Reddish without freeing up playing time, which means the team will be crowded once everyone is healthy. So whose minutes does Reddish take? He was averaging 23.4 minutes per game so far this season in Atlanta to go with 11.9 points, 2.5 rebounds and 1.1 assists on 40/38/90 shooting.
The Knicks need offensive help. They are 23rd in points per possession. But when everyone is healthy, they have a lot of guys who like to create.
Once
Derrick Rose and
Kemba Walker are back (and Walker could return from his left knee injury soon), they man the point.
Barrett is beginning to show why he went third in the same draft as Reddish. He’s averaging 24.6 points per game over his last seven games.
Alec Burks has filled in at point guard and creates off the dribble. So does second-year spark plug
Immanuel Quickley.
Evan Fournier just signed an expensive, four-year contract this past summer and has been locked in as a starter. Obi Toppin is barely a year removed from the Knicks selecting him with the No. 8 pick, and he has the second-best on-off numbers on the team behind Quickley.
Julius Randle, meanwhile, is the league’s reigning Most Improved Player and the squad’s leading creator.
That’s eight players — 10 once you add the two centers,
Mitchell Robinson and Nerlens Noel.
Taj Gibson is on the outside. So is Grimes, who is knocking down 3s and playing physical defense during his first
NBA season. No question, with the addition of Reddish, at least one of those 10 will join Gibson and Grimes on the bench.
Reddish will play. You don’t trade a first-round pick for him not to. The question then becomes, do the Knicks view Reddish’s ideal role as the one he filled in Atlanta — spot-up shooting and guarding different-sized wings? Or do they believe he can play more like his high-school self?
If the latter is the case, Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau hasn’t been shy about bold rotational decisions before. He could remove one of the other playmakers to make room for Reddish. He did, after all, just sit Walker for nine consecutive games before injuries and a COVID breakout thrust the four-time All-Star back onto the floor. Otherwise, they could slot Reddish into a more expanded version of the role Grimes has filled, hoping he can pester opposing wings and knock down 3s.”
-The Athletic