Duke may have squeaked by the Arizona Wildcats to punch their ticket to the Elite 8 — largely behind Cooper Flagg's precocious control of the game and Khaman Maluach's commanding size on both ends of the court — but it wasn't all good news for the Blue Devils coming out of March 27. While Flagg, Maluach, and a few of their teammates will be heading to the NBA this summer, a former Dukie might be losing his big-league dreams.
The Los Angeles Lakers announced early on Thursday that they had waived six-year wing Cam Reddish. They did so to free up a standard roster spot to sign Jordan Goodwin for the remainder of the season and in anticipation of their postseason run. The Lakers were forced to make a decision, as Goodwin had used up all of his two-way eligibility for LA this season, and Reddish was the chosen casualty.
The New Orleans Pelicans will have an open roster spot once Elfrid Payton's 10-day contract expires at the end of March. When that happens, they should seriously consider giving Cam Reddish a closer look and reuniting him with Zion Williamson.
Why the Pelicans should take a look at Cam Reddish
Cam Reddish has already been in the league for over half a decade and has been a pretty prominent name the entire time. Because of that, he's often perceived as significantly older than he actually is. In reality, he won't turn 26 until September.
Now, just because someone's still on the young side doesn't automatically make them worth consideration. But it's not like Reddish has never been an effective player in the NBA. His recent struggles can't really be overstated, though.
Through almost two full seasons with the Lakers, he averaged just 4.5 points, 2.0 rebounds, and 0.9 assists in 19.4 minutes per game on an atrocious 39 percent shooting from the field, including a mere 31 percent from deep. That very last bit essentially summarizes why he couldn't find success in LA. Playing next to LeBron James, if a perimeter player can't hit open triples with consistency, there's almost no reason they should be on the floor. That sentiment rung especially true when Anthony Davis was still a Laker and commanding the paint.
While he's been undeniably awful the last two years, it wasn't that long ago that Reddish was putting up decent numbers as a solid supplementary wing for the Portland Trail Blazers. His production was even better when he wasn't being shoehorned into a de facto point forward by Coach Chauncey Billips. Per statmuse, in 15 games alongside Damian Lillard, Reddish averaged 11.0 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 1.9 assists while shooting 46 percent from the field and 37 percent from beyond the arc.
That paints a picture of what he could be playing in Zion Williamson's gravity. There are plenty of reasons why the league's decision-makers hadn't given up on Reddish until now. He's a legitimate 6'8" with the agility of a guard and active feet and hands on defense. On offense, he's capable of putting the ball on the floor, finding open teammates, and attacking in transition and on closeouts. He also possesses one of the prettiest jump shots in basketball — even if his accuracy is shoddy at best.
If he can even develop a league-average hit rate from deep, there's a good NBA player within Cam Reddish. At the least, employing one of Zion's former college teammates and friends could help keep Williamson in New Orleans and happy. It's definitely worth a 10-day contract.