The Atlanta Hawks' history is filled with polarizing players, including Cam Reddish. The Hawks drafted Reddish with the 10th overall in 2019 with hopes of him becoming a fixture at the small forward position, only for him to fail to live up to the lofty expectations that come with being a lottery pick. He eventually requested a trade in hopes of being a star, and has struggled to find his footing ever since.
Reddish's basketball journey led him to the Los Angeles Lakers, who waived him in March after spending parts of the last two seasons with him. The ex-Duke Blue Devil failed to drum up much free agency interest early in the summer, leaving him with no choice but to continue his career on an overseas contract.
Reddish is heading to Lithuania to spend the 2025-26 season with BC Šiauliai, according to BasketNews' Donatas Urbonas.
Ex-Hawk Cam Reddish Heads to Lithuania to Continue Basketball Career
Based on the way his NBA career was trending recently, Reddish being forced to take an overseas deal is far from surprising. His production has been spiraling ever since he left the Hawks, and his latest season with the Lakers solidified that fact, as he averaged only 3.2 points and 2.0 rebounds with .404/.277/.615 splits while playing an average of 17.8 minutes in 33 outings.
Even with his history as a former first-round selection, NBA teams won't want to roll the dice on Reddish when it looks like his best days are long gone. Even then, he never truly lived up to his potential with the Hawks. He had an occasionally solid performance now and then, but his inefficient shooting tendencies caused him to quickly fall out of favor.
Reddish has all the physical tools to be a force in the NBA, standing 6-foot-8 with a 7-foot-1 wingspan. The main issue here is that he doesn't have the basketball IQ to match his physical gifts, which often leads to his becoming a source of frustration everywhere he goes.
Hopefully, Reddish doesn't fumble his newest opportunity. He only turned 26 years old earlier this month, which means he has a ton of time to find his groove in Europe, much like other ex-Hawks have done, before making an NBA comeback attempt.
Hawks fans will be keeping their eye on Reddish to see if his latest gamble pays off. The NBA interest wasn't there for him this summer, but there's no telling how quickly teams might change their tune if he dominates overseas. Maybe then he'll finally be able to become the star he's always wanted to be.