The Oregonian/OregonLive is taking a player-by-player look at the Portland Trail Blazers roster heading into the offseason, assessing their value both with Damian Lillard and without him in the event the superstar were traded to trigger a rebuild.
Prior posts: Jabari Walker; Keon Johnson; Kevin Knox II; John Butler Jr.; Ibou Badji; Jeenathan Williams; Skylar Mays.
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Height, position, age: 6-foot-8, small forward, 23.
Contract status: Reddish will become a restricted free agent should the Blazers extend a qualifying offer of $7.7 million.
2022-23 contributions: The Blazers acquired Reddish in a trade deadline deal that involved sending Josh Hart to the New York Knicks for Reddish and a conditional first-round pick that will convey this year.
Reddish had been languishing on the Knicks’ bench after falling out of favor with coach Tom Thibodeau.
Billups immediately inserted Reddish into the Blazers’ starting lineup. He ultimately appeared in 20 games with 12 starts and averaged 11 points with 2.9 rebounds and 1.9 assists in 27.6 minutes per contest.
Reddish shot 44.3% from the field and hit on 31.8% of his attempts from three-point range.
Fit with Lillard: The Blazers want to upgrade at small forward. Should that quest fail, Reddish could compete for the starting small forward job. However, such a move would likely be viewed as falling short of upgrading the roster enough to contend which could lead to Lillard seeking an exit strategy.
Best-case scenario for the Blazers is that they upgrade the starting five to the point where Reddish would serve as a backup. The Blazers should be able to retain Reddish at a reasonable salary given that he likely won’t receive a lucrative contract offer from another team that Portland would have to match.
Rebuild fit: It would be interesting to see if the Blazers would keep Reddish on the cheap should they enter rebuild mode following trading Lillard. Reddish could be the starting small forward depending on what position the Blazers address with their 2023 lottery pick.
Trade value: Reddish, on his third team in four seasons, would have very minimal trade value.
Likelihood to return: Quite high. Reddish, the 10th selection during the 2019 NBA draft to Atlanta, remains an intriguing prospect even though two franchises have moved him along. He’s tall, long, athletic, can score in a variety of ways and has the ability to play plus-defense. He simply hasn’t put it all together.
But at just 23, and likely coming at a relatively low salary, the Blazers will likely look to keep him around and hope he develops.
2023-24 outlook: Reddish’s career is at a crossroads. There is a strong chance he remains with the Blazers. What he does during that stint could make or break his career. If at the very least he blossoms as a defender, Reddish could find a spot in the rotation on a team built around Lillard to contend.
— Aaron Fentress | afentress@Oregonian.com | @AaronJFentress (Twitter), @AaronJFentress (Instagram), @AaronFentress (Facebook). Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts
