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Of all the Los Angeles Lakers’ free agent signings this summer, Cam Reddish is the one that has seemingly caused fans to either yawn or shrug their shoulders.
The 6-foot-7 forward was a lottery pick in 2019, but in four NBA seasons, he has shot just 39.9% overall and 32.2% from 3-point range. He is on the verge of wasting what many have seen as an ample amount of talent and being labeled a bust.
But Lakers executive Rob Pelinka seems hopeful the former Duke University player will turn into a positive contributor for the Purple and Gold.
Via The Athletic:
“I think all the tools are there for Cam,” Pelinka said. “We have an assistant coach on Darvin’s (Darvin Ham) staff, Chris Jent, who had Cam when he was with the Atlanta Hawks. He was a member of their staff and had a really good run with him where he had some really meaningful and impactful games in the playoffs where Cam made a difference. I believe in Darvin and his staff to be able to take a guy like that and get him back to playing confident basketball, efficient basketball.
“This was someone who was a (top-10) pick in the draft just a few years ago. So it’s there, and I’m excited for him to show it.”
It was thought Reddish had the ability to be a very solid player, if not a star, when he entered the NBA. This may be his last opportunity to salvage something out of his roundball career, but he will have the benefit of working with Jent once again, not to mention the tutelage of LeBron James.
The one stretch Reddish has had in the pros that even came close to being productive was during the 2021-22 season when he shot 37.9% from downtown in 34 games with the Hawks before they traded him to the New York Knicks.
The previous spring, he was limited to four playoff games due to injury. But in those four contests, which came in the Eastern Conference finals versus the Milwaukee Bucks, he shot 64.3% from 3-point land on 3.5 attempts a game.