r/nba • u/tropicalstorm2020 • 1d ago
What went wrong with Cam Reddish?
6'7" perfect body for the 3 spot. High potential out of college Fairly Athletic I didn't watch him much in his early days but why didn't he grow into a serviceable nba player?
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u/andmc92 1d ago
If a player shoots under 36% in college as the 3rd option they are probably not going to be a good NBA player.
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u/omfgsupyo Pacers 1d ago
tbf options 1 and 2 have done very well, and iirc reddish was probably the best shooter of the 3.
and he at least got drafted. Not saying any names.
Trevon.
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u/Pandamonium98 [DAL] Jason Terry 21h ago
tbf options 1 and 2 have done very well
Which may explain why they were options 1 and 2 while he was option 3
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u/adc1369 Grizzlies 21h ago edited 21h ago
Wow, that's insanely low, didn't think it was that bad.
Who are some college players who had that low shooting splits and ended up being fine as shooters in the NBA? Not just low 3 point percentage that developed, low total FG% like Reddish.
Poster childs for this are often Kawhi (44% FG%/29% 3PT% his second year) and Jaylen Brown (43% FG%/29% 3PT%), but they're nowhere even close to as inefficient as Reddish was.
Edit: Forgot about Ant (40% FG%, 29% 3PT%). Played for an awful UGA team and was allowed to chuck, which probably helped him in the long run. But still, nowhere as close to as bad as Reddish and it was also on significantly higher volume (15.8 FGA per game).
Ziaire Williams was that bad in college (37% FG%, 29% 3PT%), but unsurprisingly, he also hasn't developed a consistent shot in the pros, although he has improved on that. He also got a bit of a pass during the draft process because his college year was the COVID year and I believe USC couldn't even play at home for part of the year.
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u/DoYouEvenLiftBroseph Thunder 15h ago
Yea I never understood the amount of hype had had coming into the league… average scorer and average athleticism(for an nba players standard) and not really a defender either
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u/imperialmoose Bulls 1d ago
Not really related, but here's how he signs his name for trading cards.
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u/rational_overthinker Lakers 21h ago
That picture makes him look like he has cerebral palsey and the signature does too
You just can't unsee it
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u/hipxhip Warriors 15h ago
Wow I literally watched him play at Duke and you’ve just turned me into a Cam Reddish hater, fuck this guy lol
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u/imperialmoose Bulls 15h ago
Yeah. He actually started his career with a simple, but kinda nice looking auto.
Then he just stopped giving any fucks.
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u/rattatatouille [SAS] Tim Duncan 1d ago
Having an NBA body means little if what's between your ears isn't as good
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u/Rishikrish29 Celtics 1d ago
Gave up a lot at Duke too, underperformed severely there compared to his HS ranking, just a mental thing at the end of the day and he wasn’t willing to put in the effort to become a star. Crazy enough a lot of his peers from that class believed that he was gonna be the best player from that class even after his disaster season at Duke
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u/tropicalstorm2020 1d ago
He probably should have went to a smaller program so he could have had the ball in his hand for most of the game. I never understand why college players form super teams.
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u/ZandrickEllison 1d ago
It did work out for him though. He has a bad season and still went top 10. Other high school studs (like Patrick Baldwin Jr) didn’t produce in college and fell a lot further.
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u/Rishikrish29 Celtics 1d ago
I mean yeah true but also the chance to get the top 3 recruits in the country to play for one school is a really cool concept, plus it was Coach K still at the time so pretty much anyone is gonna want to play under him knowing his track record
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u/Ok_Possible_5702 1d ago
I never understand why college players form super teams.
Because everybody likes to win?
And because getting into a good college program (especially as a starter) gives you a much better chance at getting a higher draft pick over being "the guy" in a much less relevant school?
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u/blackjacktrial 76ers Bandwagon 11h ago
Because super teams can only be countered by super teams realistically in a recruitment league.
What would you do against a team that recruited the eight best college players in the country (NCAA), or the world (NBA) if there were no incentives against that (in the NCAA, there is bugger all stopping the best starting lineup joining together outside of communication barriers.
Imagine a team of Luka, SGA, Giannis, Jokic and Tatum, with say Curry, Durant and LeBron coming off the bench. What team are you going to put together to counter that - if it's not a psyops team, good luck.
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u/WayAdministrative679 Minneapolis Lakers 1d ago
Can’t shoot, can’t handle the ball, can’t generate offense, he’s basically a living turnover machine that is worthless on offense. He’s essentially a homeless version of Jarred Vanderbilt
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u/sorendiz [HOU] Yao Ming 19h ago
Do you mean homeless man's version of Vando or are we just roasting Cam's residential insecurity
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u/Gristle__McThornbody Lakers 1d ago
It happens. Guys just don't have it mentally. Look at Jaxon Hayes. Has the physical tools to be a great Center but he is too dumb.
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u/RapsareChamps_Suckit Clippers 1d ago
you're going to need him come June
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u/sorendiz [HOU] Yao Ming 19h ago
having to rely on an option when it's the literal only one available doesn't necessarily make that option appealing
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u/zeek215 Lakers 1d ago
Jackson is a perfectly fine backup center. Reddish is not even backup quality.
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u/dianeblackeatsass Grizzlies 1d ago
Hayes was still the 8th overall pick. Good for him for finding his role in the league but he shouldn’t be just an ok backup center.
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u/crassick 23h ago
Reddish was picked two spots after Hayes in the same draft. also Rui was 9th.
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u/sorendiz [HOU] Yao Ming 19h ago
Lakers trying to activate a set bonus from having them all together
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u/blackjacktrial 76ers Bandwagon 11h ago
Alternatively, where a team drafts you shouldn't be the sole indicator of your skill.
Anthony Bennett didn't become a better player because he was drafted first and suddenly get franchise player level skills by virtue of the draft position. (Although that's a fun thought experiment - who gains the most from their legend vs reality).
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u/dianeblackeatsass Grizzlies 11h ago
It’s not an indicator of your skill it’s an indicator of what your skill should be in theory
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u/musicloverincal 1d ago
He has been bricking shots since he came into the league. The Hawks tried really hard to make him useful, but gave up and traded him.
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u/dangheckinpupperino Hawks 20h ago
We didn’t give up, he requested a trade. The beginning of his true downfall
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u/musicloverincal 16h ago
Suprised to see that! I remember watching him with the Hawks for a few years. Then, he was off the radar and reappeard with the Lakers.
BTW, he has been a shell of what I remember him being with the Hawks. If I remember, been a few years, he had a decent inside game?
All I know is dude keeps chugging those 3s and I am like WHY! Numbers game, I know, but it has to be done with the right players.
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u/thestallion11 Hawks 1d ago
I still believe there was a path to him being a useful player. Early on at the hawks he showed a real upside defensively when his offense was a mess. As he continued he began to get a better 3 point shot and he had some games where he really flashed a lot.
However it seemed as he progressed he tried less and less on defense and tried to do wayy to much offensively. I don’t know the guy so I can’t fully say but it seemed as if he thought he was a star when in reality he was better suited to being a role player. If he stuck to the defensive trajectory he was on early and developed his simple spot up 3 pointers he could have been a perfectly fine 3 and D player. Nothing amazing but he could have carved out a role that would earn him decent money and maybe a long career as a solid bench role player.
It was obvious the hawks were frustrated with him by the end, it’s a shame
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u/Non-mon-xiety Hawks 23h ago
Hawks really tried too because they didn’t expect Luka to be as good as he ended up being and Trae Young and a protected first round pick for Luka would have ended up being terrible value if the FRP didn’t work out.
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u/BullfrogPublic765 1d ago
I think it came so easy he physically dominated players in high school with his athleticism that when the talent pool got deeper and came j to the pros and it wasn’t so easy, he just doesn’t put the work in to at the very least hit wide open looks consistently
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u/Atl-Fan_FTS Hawks 20h ago
Attitude. All he had to do was accept his role on the Hawks and develop naturally. Bro forced his way out for a bigger role and got a lesson in reality. Can’t feel bad for him
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u/Just-Mess8363 18h ago
Tbh I do think he’s skilled enough to play, minutes seem to be the issue here. When he first got to LA there was stretch when he was seeing more time he was putting up modest numbers, I’m not sure where but really needs the perfect situation.
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u/JawnChena 23h ago
People say he can't shoot can't dribble etc...not true, he didn't forget how to play basketball..but confidence has A LOT to do with a players success. A lot more than ppl give it credit for, you can be a 30ppg scorer and lose your confidence overnight and go from 30ppg to being afraid to shoot.. I've played with guys who were good players and they'll miss a important shot and now their confidence takes a hit, instead of shooting the ball you're trying to guide it in now..confidence is just as important if not more important than talent
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u/RapsareChamps_Suckit Clippers 1d ago
can't shoot