GM Travis Schlenk: Trade Of Cam Reddish Gives Hawks More Options

Sending small forward Cam Reddish gave the Hawks an opportunity to see if they need to make a move ahead of the trade deadline, general manager Travis Schlenk told reporters, via Sarah K. Spencer of the Atlanta Journal Constitution.

Atlanta received forward Kevin Knox and a 2022 first-round pick from New York. Schlenk indicated it may not be the only move the Hawks make ahead of the Feb. 10 trade deadline.

“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.”

After making a run to the Eastern Conference finals, the Hawks have struggled to get into a rhythm this season. If the playoff started today, they wouldn’t qualify beyond the play-in tournament.

The trade presumably will give them a more set wing rotation. Without Reddish, the Hawk can just go with De’Andre Hunter, Bogdan Bogdanovich and Kevin Huerter, using Knox at both forward spots.

So they won’t need to worry about finding minutes for Reddish, who had expressed a desire to play somewhere else for an increased opportunity. While the Hawks liked him, they knew he’s due for a contract extension. That combined with a logjam at his spot led to them granting him his wish.

“He’s super high-talent. We all see that,” Schlenk said. “He’s got great length, he’s got great size, he’s got great skill level. But we’re trying to blend the team together, as well.

“So we have to take all that stuff into consideration. He could certainly go on and have an All-Star caliber career, and I wouldn’t be shocked at all by that.”