When the Los Angeles Lakers signed forward Cam Reddish to a veteran’s minimum contract this past summer, not much was expected of him. Despite being a lottery pick in 2019, he had failed to amount to anything meaningful in four NBA seasons.
After the Lakers started this season 3-5, head coach Darvin Ham moved Reddish into the starting lineup. For a little while, Reddish made somewhat of an impact thanks to some ball-hawking effort, as they won 11 of their next 15 games and won the in-season tournament.
But since then, Reddish’s positive impact has evaporated, yet Ham has elected to keep the 24-year-old in the starting lineup for all but one game he has been available to play in.
By now, it is clear that he simply doesn’t deserve to be a starter or even play major minutes.
In 23.6 minutes a game this season, Reddish is averaging 6.5 points, 2.4 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.2 steals. He’s shooting under 40% from the field and is at just 33.7% from 3-point range, and other than an occasional steal or deflection, he simply doesn’t provide any value at either end of the floor.
With Reddish on the floor, L.A. is minus 2.0 in net rating. With him off the floor, it is minus 1.5.
The team has lost 12 of its last 17 games and is now 19-21, which puts it in 11th place in the Western Conference. Clearly, something has to be done to arouse a team that is now in danger of missing the play-in tournament.
How do fans feel about Reddish?
For at least a few weeks, Lakers fans have been begging Ham to move Reddish to the bench or even to not play Reddish at all.
These tweets illustrate how frustrated fans are about Reddish eating up so many minutes.
Cam Reddish is not a bad player for us… he is just not a starter on this Laker team 🤷🏽♂️
— philly phil (@pc3laker) January 14, 2024
Max Christie should be a starter over Cam Reddish, Reddish isn’t consistent offensively and Max shooting long side Reaves and Osama Bin Prince around AD and LeBron will make the lineup way better.#LakeShow
— LakersMuse 🇮🇱 (@lakermuse5) January 12, 2024
I hate watching these players man. We should all boycott the Lakers until they make a trade. Why is Cam Reddish a permanent starter
— Mitchell (@maavo_) January 12, 2024
Darvin Ham swears that Cam Reddish a lock down defender and starter. That’s enough to get a coach fired.
— Joey (@LakeShowJoey) January 6, 2024
The Lakers need a 5th starter
Cam Reddish is a glorified scrub
— TP3Bets (@TP3bets) January 12, 2024
If Lakers fans were in charge of the team, Ham would’ve been fired and shipped off to an Iranian prison weeks ago. His decision to ride with Reddish has been a major reason for that sentiment.
Who should replace Reddish?
Plenty of fans have questioned why Ham won’t go with the starting five that got the Lakers to the Western Conference Finals last spring. That unit consisted of LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Austin Reaves, D’Angelo Russell and Jarred Vanderbilt.
Right now, Vanderbilt may be the best option to replace Reddish in the starting lineup. While he is very limited offensively, he at least attempts to cut and flash into the middle without the ball. Vanderbilt, a 6-foot-8 forward, is an effective and versatile defender who plays with lots of energy and also helps L.A. on the boards.
Another player fans have called to be inserted into the starting lineup is forward Rui Hachimura. At 6-foot-8 and 230 pounds, he can score one-on-one, finish strong in transition and hold his own defensively.
However, Hachimura appears to be more effective defensively when playing power forward. If he were to start, he would have to start at the 3 spot, since James shouldn’t be asked to chase wings around the perimeter at this stage of his career.
