Tom Thibodeau non-committal on Cam Reddish being in Knicks' rotation: 'That'll be earned'

Will Cam Reddish be in the Knicks' rotation this season? That’s TBD, according to head coach Tom Thibodeau.

"The players are going to earn what they get. We have good depth (at wing). I can’t tell you right now who’s in the rotation, who’s not in the rotation," Thibodeau said on Wednesday when asked if he thinks Reddish will be in the rotation this season. "That’ll be earned. And then if someone’s not in the rotation initially, doesn’t mean that they stay there.

"I’ve told you before I’m not as wrapped up in who starts as you guys are. I’m more wrapped up in who plays well and who helps our team the most. We’ll see how it unfolds."

Thibodeau said he’s "anxious" to see Reddish in training camp and preseason games.

"We have good wing depth so it’s good competition. But we’ll see how it unfolds," he said.

New York traded Kevin Knox and a protected first-round pick to the Atlanta Hawks for Reddish last January. Reddish was initially out of Thibodeau's rotation, but played regular minutes later in the season due in part to injuries. Then, Reddish suffered a season-ending shoulder injury.

The fourth-year wing said on Tuesday that he is 100 percent healthy.

Reddish is presumably competing with RJ Barrett, Quentin Grimes and Evan Fournier for minutes. Given that, there doesn’t appear to be a clear path to the rotation for Reddish. But Thibodeau says Reddish – or any player - can earn minutes based on his performance in training camp and the preseason. 

If Reddish is out of the rotation again in 2022-23, it will be a bit odd considering New York traded a protected first-round pick and Knox (a former first-round pick) to acquire him. Normally, players acquired with those assets get playing time from the team that traded for them. Reddish will be a free agent this offseason.

Can Julius Randle and Obi Toppin coexist in the lineup?

The Knicks may play Randle and Toppin together in some lineups during the preseason, but Thibodeau doesn’t sound like a coach who is in love with the Toppin-Randle pairing.

After Wednesday’s practice, Thibodeau was asked if he wanted to see Randle and Toppin in the same lineup in preseason games.

"Yeah and the thing is, we don’t have to just see it in a game. We can see it in practice as well. So sometimes, I think people say, 'Well, this works. Why wouldn’t you do that?' Well, maybe we’ve looked at it. We’ve studied the numbers. We’ve watched it in practice," Thibodeau said. "And how does it impact the group? You have to ask those questions. But you always want to get a look at things, particularly in the preseason, so we’ll take a look at that."

Thibodeau was then asked if he’d seen lineups featuring Randle and Toppin during practice over the past two years.

"Yeah and the numbers will tell you it wasn’t very effective," he said.

Randle and Toppin played a total of 107 minutes together last season and New York outscored opponents by eight points in those minutes, per NBA.com.

This is worth noting for those of you who want to see Toppin get an expanded role this season. If Randle and Toppin aren’t on the court together, then the Knicks presumably would need to reduce Randle’s minutes in order to expand Toppin’s minutes.