Knicks, Cam Reddish trade talks ‘intensify,’ Lakers still among suitors

The Lakers’ pursuit of Cam Reddish from the New York Knicks could be nearing a conclusion...eventually. Maybe. For nearly a year, the Lakers have attempted to acquire Reddish via trade from either the Hawks or the Knicks.

Being rebuffed last year has done nothing to quell their interest this season as they have continued pursuing the wing. While their interest was reported earlier this season, rumors had died down in recent weeks.

However, on Wednesday, longtime NBA reporter Marc Stein reported that the Knicks had stepped up their efforts to deal Reddish again on his Substack.

The Knicks have redoubled their efforts to find a new home for Reddish with essentially three weeks to go until the deadline, sources tell The Stein Line, with the Dallas Mavericks having joined the Milwaukee Bucks and the Los Angeles Lakers on the list of known potential trade partners. Reddish has been unable to win trust or regular minutes from Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau since New York acquired him from Atlanta just over a year ago.

It’s hard to imagine a bidding war will be all that competitive when it comes to Reddish, who has not played a game since Dec. 4 and has played just four times since Nov. 18. Stein reports that the Knicks are looking for second round picks and matching salaries in return for Reddish, a far cry from their previous demand of a first round pick.

For the Lakers, effectively the only player that they could trade for Reddish would be Kendrick Nunn, who Sean Deveney of Heavy reported is the player they’re offering in trade talks. There isn’t much rocket science involved, though, as a one-for-one swap could only be done with either Lonnie Walker IV and Nunn and, to be blunt, one of those players has been productive this season and one has not.

Deveney does note that it could be a three-team deal that would likely see Nunn sent elsewhere, but beggers can’t really be choosers when it comes to the Knicks. The difference-maker for any Reddish deal will be the second round picks offered and how many or how good of a pick the teams are willing to give up.

At the very least, though, we’re in the final weeks of Reddish Watch 2023 with the chances of him landing on the Lakers being relatively decent, for now at least.

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