I’ve got to tell ya Cam Reddish is a spectacular basketball player, the kid has all the tools to be a superstar at the NBA level but up til now I am going to get off the high-horse with Cam and bank on him never becoming the superstar I originally saw him becoming when Travis Schlenk picked him up in the draft. I know Travis, you felt like you were Sam Presti when you drafted Cam Reddish and I was right there with you. I foresaw Trae Young and Cam Reddish growing into the next great duo in the Eastern Conference but that unfortunately never materialized. Reddish wasted away in New York and now after being shipped to his second team in over 3 seasons most believe if he can’t figure it out in Portland he might be out of the league altogether; or he would likely become a commodity for a team in need of outside shooting but at that point any coach who starts him probably would deserve to get fired. He’s looking very good in Portland so far and I’ve got to tip my hat off to the Blazers’s front office for taking a flyer on the now journeyed swing-man who’s biggest challenge is finding a featured role with a coach who will believe in his abilities on the basketball court. Let’s make no mistake about it, Cam Reddish has the entire bag and than some. He can handle with the best of them,shoot it off the dribble with the best of them, and he’s well capable of playing anywhere from point guard to small forward with rather ease.
You can’t teach 6’7″, not to mention that 7’1″ wingspan; a big reason why he is often compared to Paul George who has a very similar build and skill-set. I saw Cam Reddish do a move in the Blazers win against the Magic in Orlando where for 7-8 seconds I felt like I was watching a Irving/George hybrid. He dribbled past his defender, juked one way,went the other,and spin moved his way into a under-hand lay-up with his right hand. It brought flash-backs to when Kevin Durant was watching him on tape touching on his hang-time in the air and uncanny ability for adjusting in mid-air which is something unprecedented and very unique about the young swing-man. No one knows what will happen in Portland this off-season, will the Blazers shove Damian Lillard and his loyalty out of Portland,Oregon or will they give it a run with a hopefully re-signed Jerami Grant and Cam Reddish to go with Damian Lillard and Anfernee Simons next season? I’ll tell ya this much, if Reddish continues to ascend in the role head coach Chauncey Billups has laid out for him as a permanent starter if I were Damian Lillard I would not leave Portland for at least next season. Revisit asking out if Cam Reddish doesn’t have the breakout we’ve been expecting from him for the past gazillion years. Because boy if Reddish finds his stride in Portland, the Moda Center is going to be an exciting place to visit next season. Cam is giving us an appetizer of whats to come for next season, for the mean time he’s on a mission to help Dame get the Blazers in the playoffs.
It’s a tight race out West right now from 7-10 but I’d be shocked if the Blazers lose footing outside of the top 10 considering the level Damian Lillard is playing at at the moment which is just hall-of-famer stuff. Going back to Cam Reddish, at this very point in time he’s likely the third option behind both Lillard and Grant who just got back; and obviously you have Anfernee Simons who comes and goes like the wind ; and I don’t believe anyone in Portland believes he’s going to help Dame steer the franchise in the right direction. Can he be part of the turn-around absolutely but Portland’s best bet is seeing what they have in Cam Reddish. He’s the one with the untapped ceiling and although head coach Chauncey Billups’s head coaching credentials are not on par with a Gregg Poppovich or Steve Kerr’s, I’d like to think he was a better coach than Lloyd Pierce in Atlanta. I won’t debate Chauncey being a better coach than the now fired Nate McMillan or even Tom Thibodeau who coached him sparingly in New York but he hasn’t gotten his hands on a commodity like Cam in Portland, I’m sure Chauncey was licking his chops the moment he found out Cam was coming to Portland. Bringing Reddish over was like buying a Lamborghini which just needs some detail work,couple tweaks here and there and you’ve got yourself a hot commodity once again.
With Mikal Bridges enjoying a full-fledged breakout in Brooklyn after being moved away just when he finally started to hit his stride in Phoenix, there is no reason Cam Reddish can’t do what Mikal is doing in Brooklyn as of late. Mikal expanded into a go to option instead of just cutting off ball and spotting up for a Chris Paul pass for a catch and shoot 3; with Booker out for over 10-15 games Bridges showed off his improved play-making ability and kept the Suns afloat while both Booker and Paul sat on the sidelines in street clothes. How could anyone not expect Mikal to not average at least 20-24 points per game? He’s got the Khris MIddleton game going now with the drive and pull-up jumper much like his former running mate Devin Booker. But enough about bridges, Cam Reddish needs to seize the moment in Portland as this could end up being a Scottie Pippen like moment. A former NBA legend who took his lumps and bruises before finally breaking through both mentally and physically enough and the rest was history. I’m by no means indicating Cam Reddish’s ascension would be all Dame needs to capture that elusive Larry O’ Brien trophy but it would certainly be 3/4 of the job.
Cam Reddish is like a young male lion, he gives you glimpses of what he will be in the future but just can’t put it all together. It’s a mental game with Cam, and hopefully playing alongside a player the caliber of Damian Lillard who not only is a great player but also a great leader will help Cam find himself in Portland. Cam Reddish can either take a qualifying offer and bet on himself to go for a possibly 3-4 year $50-60 million dollar deal the summer of 2024 or he could lock in with Portland for likely less this summer. I just said $50-60 million because he is the ripe age of 23 and his prime days are well ahead of him, hopefully Portland grabbed him in that sweet spot to reap the rewards. I banged my head against the wall for years because Portland never invested in a legitimate swing-man who could get you 20-30 a night while defend at a high level on the other end, Kevin Durant,Paul George,Kawhi Leonard, or LeBron James would’ve helped Dame get a ring by in the 2010’s. And no I am not implying Cam needs to become that level of a player in Portland but he certainly packs all the right ingredients to blossom into something which will keep Dame from taking a one-way flight out of Oregon anytime soon.
D-NBA 