Phoenix Suns Squared: Cam Reddish played behind major Duke stars

If the Phoenix Suns drop out of the top-four in the upcoming NBA Draft, Cam Reddish might be their primary target.

Cam Reddish entered the 2018-19 season with Duke as the third cog in their big-three alongside Zion Williamson and RJ. Reddish, and his season was disappointing, to say the least.

Despite Reddish’s size and skill, his production and play ultimately left something to be desired.

Phoenix Suns

Diving into Reddish’s stats, that is the key take away as to how he underperformed based on a combination of his expected potential, and undeniable skillset.

Reddish only averaged 13.5 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 1.9 assists per game while shooting a very poor 35.6% overall and 33% from 3. Even when you correct for per 40 minutes, his numbers only increase to 18.1, 5.0, and 2.6, points, rebounds, and assists respectively.

Reddish’s rate metrics aren’t better, and in fact, seem to be even worse.

Reddish has the size (6’8 with a 7’1 wingspan) to be an impact on the boards but only posted a 2.0% offensive rebound rate and 10.6% defensive rebound rate.

Additionally, his assist rate was 10.7 – although that isn’t awful given his offensive role, but when combined with his turnover rate of 20.7%, it looks much worse.

Reddish did post some positive numbers with a steal rate of 2.9% which is good and a FT% of 77% which isn’t bad at all.

He also had a win score of 3.0 bolstered by 2.2 for his defensive win score showing the impact he can have defensively.

Reddish has all the tools to be successful in the NBA, and still might be a primary target of the Suns if they are unable to move up to the top-two following next month’s lottery.

He has solid size and athleticism, has a good shooting form, is a switchable defender with long arms to guard multiple possessions, and is a good passer for his size and position.

Yet despite all of that, Reddish failed to put it all together this season. He failed to maximize his physical abilities but taking short steps, avoiding contact, and when the contact did happen, he seemed weak and routinely got pushed off his line, lost balance, and would fall.

He too struggled with consistent effort on both ends of the floor, leading to a habit of settling for bad shots, telegraphing passes, and poor defensive discipline and judgment.

NBADraft.net compares Reddish to Rudy Gay, a swing-man primary or secondary scorer who would never lead a team, but could potentially be a Joe Johnson fourth star on a really stacked playoff team.

Granted, it will take him some time to develop, and is currently blocked by several other wing players. But if the Suns are in a position where Reddish is the best player available, he won’t help them to a playoff spot in 2020, but might be ideal for them in three years.

Reddish remains a top prospect given his baseline gifts and the potential we saw at times at Duke. However, his inconsistent play and lack of production is worrisome and is why the stats he posted were so depressed given expectations and abilities.