Atlanta Hawks recently pulled the “trigger” on a deal that sent Cam Reddish to the New York Knicks for a first-round pick. Atlanta GM, Travis Schlenk, explained his thoughts on the trade during a discussion with Sarah Spencer of the Atlanta Journal Constitution.
The Hawks added Kevin Knox and a first-round pick to the deal with the Knicks. Knox is not expected to be in the rotation. However, the move freeds more minutes for De’Andre Hunter, Bogdan Bogdanovic and Kevin Huerter.
(via Hoopsrumors):
“I’ve seen some people say why wouldn’t they wait. We wanted to see if just a little tweak would have an impact,” Schlenk said. “This gives us two, three weeks before the trade deadline to see if a small tweak does kind of change the trajectory of the season. So, by doing this early, it gives us that little runway to evaluate. And, you know, again, our hope is that this will sort of change the course of the season for us.”
Reddish expressed his desire to move to a team where he could play more last summer. He was coming off the bench in Atlanta, averaging 23.4 minutes through 34 games this season.
Coach Nate McMillan was well aware of Reddish’s desire to be moved, but stated the former Duke forward remained professional throughout the season, per Chris Kirschner of the Athletic.
“I thought he handled it the right way. He didn’t make a big deal about it in the press,” McMillan said recently. “He told us how he felt and what he wanted, and he tried to go out and be professional about it.”
The Hawks (17-24) are still away from the playoff picture this season. That means that Shlenck could be more active heading to the trade deadline, which will be in less than a month on February 10.
