Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau‘s handling of Cam Reddish came into question Friday following a 123-108 loss to the Bucks at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee.
Reddish, whom the Knicks acquired Jan. 13 in a trade that sent Kevin Knox and a future first-round pick to the Atlanta Hawks, did not play as a losing skid for New York (23-27) grew to three straight.
The Knicks have played eight times since landing Reddish, but he has only logged two games — a five-minute debut during this past Sunday’s 110-102 win over the Los Angeles Clippers and a 10-minute appearance in Wednesday’s 110-96 loss at the Miami Heat.
Asked about Reddish’s absence from the rotation and communication with the front office when the Knicks give up a first-round pick for a player, Thibodeau answered with the following response.
“Everything was discussed, and we like who he is — we like the talent,” Thibodeau said of Reddish, who was the 2019 NBA Draft’s No. 10 overall pick coming from Duke. “And right now, it’s a long season. We traded someone who wasn’t in the rotation. So you can’t keep adding to (the rotation) without taking someone out — or (if) you have injuries. So you just have to be patient and work our way through it.”
Through two games with New York, Reddish has scored eight points on 3-of-8 shooting while grabbing four rebounds and blocking one shot in 15-plus minutes.