The Rockets have agreed to trade forward Cam Whitmore to the Wizards, reports Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link). According to Charania, Houston will acquire a pair of second-round picks in return.
Whitmore, a Maryland native who will turn 21 on Tuesday, was selected out of Villanova with the 20th overall pick in the 2023 draft. It was viewed as a steal at the time for the Rockets, given that the 6’7″ forward was widely viewed as a top-10 – or even top-five – pick leading up to the draft.
However, while Whitmore flashed some major upside as a scorer off the bench during his first two NBA seasons, he wasn’t able to carve out a consistent role for a deep Rockets team. He made a total of 98 appearances from 2023-25, averaging 10.8 points and 3.4 rebounds in 17.4 minutes per game, with a shooting line of .449/.357/.707.
The Rockets worked with Whitmore and his representatives in recent weeks in an effort to find a new home, per Charania (Twitter link). He should get an opportunity to play more significant – and more consistent – minutes for a rebuilding Wizards team that will be looking for some of its young players to establish themselves as long-term building blocks.
Moving Whitmore will help generate a little extra flexibility below a first-apron hard cap for a Rockets team that was expected to have to part with Whitmore or Jeenathan Williams to stay below that threshold once its reported deals for Kevin Durant and Clint Capela are official.
Houston will acquire Chicago’s 2026 second-round pick and Sacramento’s 2029 second-rounder in the deal, a league source tells Josh Robbins of The Athletic (Twitter link).
The Wizards, meanwhile, have no shortage of cap exceptions they could use to take on Whitmore’s $3.54MM salary without sending back a player themselves, but it sounds like they won’t need to use their mid-level, bi-annual, or existing trade exceptions. Varun Shakar of The Washington Post says this deal is expected to be folded into a larger trade with the Pelicans when it goes official.
Washington will have until October 31 of this year to decide whether or not to exercise Whitmore $5.46MM team option for the 2026/27 season. Assuming the Wizards pick up that option, he’ll become eligible for a rookie scale extension a year from now.
Chicago and Denver were reportedly among the other teams that expressed some level of interest in Whitmore before the Rockets made a deal with Washington.
Steal for washington
My next prediction
Witmore, Keyshawn George, Kispert and a protected first to the third team and take Kuminga
Third team sends a promising young to Warriors
Centerpiece is required
That’s the return GS could get had they not put Kuminga in the corner, cut his minutes, and then criticized him for not being Shawn Marion, decreasing has trade value. But as things stand, there’s no way.
Also, Kispert, Kyshawn and Whitmore make 20m rogether, so it would require Kuminga to get a 40m contract. It’s not happening.
Dumping talented players has so become the norm. Bad cap rules
Isn’t this the reason for the cap? To avoid teams being super stacked with talented players while other teams have none
Whoever on here that I told that Houston wouldn’t trade Whitmore for 2nd rounders…. I was wrong lol
That’s all it took for Whitmore?
Yes
Witmore has no stats to support
Teams don’t give up a first round pick for no-stats player
Looks like a steal for Washington. That’s the price contending teams has to pay looking to win now. Trade for top players while giving up young talent. Cap situation doesn’t help either for teams looking to compete as well
I thought (heard rumor ) he was going to be swept into one of the Atl trades under a trade exception
Nice job Wiz
…he was one of their main wings…steal for Washington in multiple ways
Suns sleeping at the wheel
> Suns sleeping at the wheel
I thought so also. Suns supposedly wanted Whitmore. They took 5 second rounders in the KD deal. Why not take Whitmore and only 3 second rounders instead?
The other possibility is that Suns were desperate for 2nd round picks, having basically and none and been prevented from making deals over the last year as a consequence.
Well it was a good thing the suns had those seconds so they could trade 4 of them to get the 31st pick in the draft. /s. To be fair suns would have had to send someone to Houston. Green and brooks just barely fit into Durant’s salary.
They don’t have cap space to make trade. It’s basically a salary dump for Rockets. They don’t want a player back. They have their core and team. Whitmore wasn’t going to get PT chasing a title.
L take again by aristotle. Thats what you get for speaking from your behind.
The New CBA and the success The Pacers and Thunders had with deep rosters urges teams to be very careful with whom you give big contracts.
The most valuable contracts will mid price and long term. You cant hand 100+ Millionen Dollar contracts to young players you are not Sure they are Worth it. Especially if you already have a bunch of better young players commanding such contracts.
The Kuminga market has shrunk.
And the bulls got okoro. It’s tough being a bulls fan
Just head over to the Giddey story comments section. Bulls fans seem over the moon with Josh Giddey.
Kuminga to the Wizards discussion ends here.
Kuminga and Whitmore are both big wing, bucket-getter types needing more/consistent minutes. Washington wouldn’t want them both.
Absolute steal for Washington, Houston obviously miscalculated over the last 2 weeks and waited too long to trade Whitmore.
Longer it goes the more likely Kuminga signs a 1 year deal.
That is true Arc but I still don’t see him leaving July with just 1 year deal
Can probably get a quasi deal like Jalen Green that allows him a player option to get back into free agency earlier than typical for RFA deals
GSW has no good reason not to give him 25 AAV then just flip him in early Feb most likely. Theres just not much difference in how the MLE or TPMle plays right now in the market to make the savings play up
Verdict~ I think yall gonna see 45 more games of Kuminga as a GSW min
Yes, at this point I think the W’s can convince Kuminga it’s in his best interests to sign a contract for 2-3 years if he wants to be traded.
But I think Arc’s option remains a possibility.
If Warriors don’t see a deal that helps them now. Then they just sign him and trade him at deadline.
Whitmore has nothing to do with Kuminga. Whitmore is looking for PT to get a better contract, next one. Kuminga is already at next contract.
“Whitmore has nothing to do with Kuminga. Whitmore is looking for PT to get a better contract ”
That has EVERYTHING to do with Kuminga
Why would a RFA have to do with a young player trying to get PT for a next contract. Totally different situations personally. And for Warriors Whitmore means nothing to their handling of Kuminga. Apples and oranges
Kuminga is currently fighting for extra millions bc he didn’t get the extra minutes
No ofc they don’t have direct parallels in that sense but the situation is exactly the same
* Your ole boy Bones Hyland tryed this years ago but he jut didn’t have the sauce to make the meal work. Its not new, its not Kuminga specific but the situation is dead on
Kuminga is a RFA and has the right to ask for what he wants. Warriors not playing him affected his FA. So he has the right to be upset. Kuminga is a RFA right now. And only reason he’s not gone already. Is cause of new cap rules. Lucky for him he proved in playoffs he is worth a shot at a big contract. And that’s why they are here today ……
What does any of this have to do with Whitmore getting traded to Wizards basically on a salary dump. He has a 5.3 mill TO next year. Rockets are over the cap now. Plus have no mins fir Whitmore. So you don’t keep an unhappy player in a contender. Where you have no mins for ….
Again absolutely nothing to do Kuminga …..
Appkes n oranges. Benjamins and Washingtons
I think Kuminga and Whitmore are mentioned regarding to Washington because it was reported that the Wiz wanted Jonathan. And they are similar score-first wings with flaws but high upside who didn’t get minutes. So after this move, it seems unlikely that Washington will continue their interest.
But their contractual situations at GS and Houston were completely different, of course.
Washington is smart to look at Kuminga. They are a rebuilding team. But he won’t come cheap. He’s looking for a max rookie extension. Wash would have to give up talent to get him. Whitmore much cheaper and easier to do. Only place I can see Kuminga going is Miami. They have young talent Warriors can use now. Probably best deal for Warriors.
If I was Nets. I just sign him and make Warriors tremble lol. He can start for Nets. And be their top guy in NY. That will do wonders for his career.
Washington literally wasn’t looking at Kuminga. It has already been reported that that had no basis in reality.
I don’t think they miscalculated. They just know Cam’s a headache. No doubt in my mind after watching all of his games over the last couple years, that he’ll be a 20ppg guy on bad teams until he learns to play team ball. Seems like Jordan Poole 2.0 to me.
Appreciate that point of view.
But I believe he’s worth a low or protected FRP. 2 seconds is too low.
The timing of this deal (at the last moment for the Rockets) indicates that they couldn’t find other takers.
No Wash is one of few teams that take his salary and not send any back lol. You who love numbers so much. Should see that. Cap at work again. Same thing happened to Knicks with Obi. They gave him to Pacers for two second rd picks. Rockets signed FDS. Knicks were able to sign Donte.
To be fair, they are high second round picks (2026 Chicago and 2029 Sacramento). I’m not sure that it would be reasonable to expect more than a couple of picks in the 30s for a guy who was drafted 2th and hasn’t been able to carve out a spot on a roster in two NBA seasons.
Houston didnt Miscalculate. L take from aristotle when it was reported earlier that Houston was willing to include Whitmore for the deal to the Suns but the Suns asked for 2 2nd round picks instead.
aristotle talking again from his behind. Better stay quite and wait for Kuminga to sign a 1 year deal and see him leave next year.
The money couldn’t work with Whitmore added. But Suns could have added a player to make it work. Suns should of tried it. Whitmore is worth a look to them. I know they wanted that pick. And Maluach is a great pick for them. Today the salary cap is not easy to manage for trades. Gor teams capped out.
Great move for Wizards. Considering all they have is young wings. They will have a big decision to make. On which one to invest in. Good luck. ……
3 wings can be on the court at the same time and make sense. OKC have been doing it, Houston too.
But Washington will have Carrington playing at the base of it, hard to trust him to make it all congruous. Hard to trust him at all, honestly.
Kasparas was there to take in the draft…
Bub is 19, improved by most measures after the all-star break, played 82 games, had a great attitude, and (IIRC) was second team all rookie. We don’t have any reason to think he can’t play next to 3 wings if that’s a lineup they use next year.
I know that Bub looked better, and there’s no issue with his attitude. But the team is in a situation where it needs a player who can shape, give clarity, and make the group look like a real team – that’s a big deal, and too much to ask of him.
Marcus Smart and CJ McCollum and Middleton are all guys who should be able to help organize an offense. We’ll see how many of those guys are on the team when the season starts and how they are used, but getting 24 minutes of Smart every night should help the FO evaluate what they have and how these guys fit into an NBA rotation.
Committing to players is not playing at same time. Wash has to commit to a core soon. Its what OKC is going thru now. You think any team can do what OKC has done lol. They will deal with cap issues from now on.
I don’t think Washington are committing to a core soon, not at all.
They still have years of tanking ahead of them, and many promising players who are now on the team will leave before it’s all over.
All #1 picks can negotiate for another contract in year 4. Whitmore has a TO next year. So he can negotiate next year. Not up to Wizards. Soon like in next 2-3 yrs they will have to decide on who to invest in..
Yes, he will be extension-eligible on his rookie deal next summer, so 25-26 is his contract year. Bilal as well. But it’s a stretch to say that those 2 events will force the team into committing to something.
3 years, which I agree is possible, is not exactly soon in NBA terms. Soon is 1 year, maybe 2 years, and I don’t think that’s happening. I don’t think the team will be going into 26-27 knowing who they are committing to and having a good idea of what the “core” is. Even if they get a good pick next year. They will tank in 25-26, 26-27, and probably after that. The new flattened lottery odds are really brutal; they give the bottom 4 teams a 50% chance to end up outside of the top 4.
I read in a good resource (basketball poetry) that 26-27 Wizards will be scary. Many people seem to share that idea.
I don’t think they will be scary at all.
The bulk of the team currently is 2024 draft, and it was seen as the weakest class ever for a reason. Imo, not a single player from that class other than Buzelis has shown anything to make me believe any of them have a chance to be an All-NBA or even all-star calibre players. It can change, sure, these guys will get minutes and opportunity, but at some point, the talent will matter.
At the end of the day, without proper talent, you’re not going anywhere. Decent wings showing flashes will not get this team far.
I think many players who are on the roster now will leave. They had no problem letting Deni leave and never committed to him, even though he’s the most talented guy the team drafted since Beal, possibly since Wall.
I can see Bilal, Sarr, Carrington and others leaving or flaming out before it’s all over.
FOs have it hard understanding where they stand and what they need if they don’t have somebody who they see as “the guy”.
Rockets are no longer a “young” team — over last 2 weeks, their roster has aged to over the NBA average.
Gone: Jaylen Green (23), Whitmore (20), Brooks (28)
Long-term contracts: Durant (36), DFS (32) , FVV (31), Adams (31)
Durant and FVV can both leave after next season so I don’t know why you’re considering them long term.
Experience helps win in the playoffs.
Absolutely, “experience helps win in the playoffs”. And, Durant and FVV will be on the team for at least 2 season (Durant for 3). Book it.
1. No way did the Durant trade happens without an understanding he signs an extension at max salary, probably 2 years. Both sides want it.
2. FVV has a player option for the following year. 90% of the time, that results in the player staying, whether it be because the player exercises the option or a new deal is negotiated.
This is now a “veteran team”, same as Dallas and Lakers.
I don’t want to poke holes at numbers like 90% of the time; I’m just stating the facts.
I think the team is better for it. Reminds me of when my Raptors went all in on The Claw.
> I don’t want to poke holes at numbers like 90% of
> the time
I’m open to facts. Do you have any data to support your insinuation. It’s publicly available.
I just don’t like when people throw out numbers.
The onus isn’t on me to provide data but looking at next year I can confidently say it’s not 90%.
link to hoopsrumors.com
I’m very geeky about these things (which I’m not proud of).
I did my own research just now for the last 10 years of data. If you exclude players that are traded and contracts under $20M, 81% of players that sign a contract with an option year play for that team during the option year.
That’s not to limited to a player opting in. It includes that case, but it also includes the case of the team and player negotiating an extension, which happens a lot because it’s in both sides’ business interests.
The larger point: an option year on large contract usually (81% of the time) signals that the player will play for that team in his option year if not traded before then.
I appreciate you compiling that data for us.
Take some pride in being savvy and knowledgeable, or even enthusiastic about these things. There’s no reason to be ashamed of something like that.
Thank you. BTW, my saying that the Rockets weren’t a young team anymore wasn’t a criticism. Like you said, they are doing what they believe will win them a Chip. It’s just interesting to note that when a team makes that move, the discussion changes. The fire is now.
Autocomplete problem… “The future is now”.
Rockets are a contender for next three years. Plus they still have young players. Who are still getting better. Amen, Sengun, Eason, Smith, Sheppard.
Rockets are a top team lol ….. Enjoy it
Actually, we will probably see many games next season when the 2nd oldest player for LAL is 27 years old.
Rui, Reaves, Doncic, Ayton are all 27-26. And then they have Knecht, Reaves, a couple of 2nd rounders they drafted.
It could happen that if LeBron sits out a game against Houston, LAL will have a lower average age in that match.
Good point that the Lakers starters have suddenly gotten a lot younger…
If you take out LBJ from the avg they are the 6th youngest team in the league
Top 5 full of tankers mostly as well
It really pisses me off as a Bay Area sports fan because Pelinka/Buss don’t deserve it.
At least you don’t gloat.
you sure are very active at Houston news. Looks like aristotle has switched caps from the Dubs to the Rockets.
Pretty much everyone thinks KD will sign an extension the the Rockets, since that was one of his must haves in the trade scenario.
They did it the right way. Draft and develop a young core…See what works as they get better..Then add vets for a playoff run. As it sits now, 5 of their top 10 players are 24 or younger..
Thats a great position to be in.
Whitemore can score but he has tunnel vision. He does not like to pass the ball.
Wow, a great piece of businesses for Washington. Only 2 years into his rookie deal.
Can’t wait to see how he performs when playing bigger minutes.
Was there something between him and Udoka, or was it just because Houston had too many quality players?
Phoenix are probably thinking “Wait a minute, why didn’t we get him?”
Yes play time beef
Whitemores getting ahead of the Kuminga curve here by a year in hopes of a better RFA market .
I hope this doesn’t become a Bigger thing going forward with others
He’ll most likely average 20 on bad teams for at least a few years until he gets his head straight. Think Jordan Poole 2.0.
> Was there something between him and Udoka, or was
> it just because Houston had too many quality players?
IMO, both.
Both.
Hm. If it’s both, then I’ll be a little cautious. Udoka commands respect, and if he had something against Whitmore, then maybe there’s something to be sceptical about the player.
Kuminga would be a more interesting option, of course, even though it would take more to get him out of GS, and he would be on a big contract. But his upside is so high, and he’s not far from blossoming, IMO. Kuminga has “the guy gets traded and explodes after it” written all over him.
But Kuminga was always likely to resign with GS and then be traded after Dec, 15 anyway.
So it’s good that Washington went for Whitmore, they need a scorer like him.
I’d rather Whitmore score 25 and Washington lose by 5-10, than watch them lose by 30-40, like they were doing the previous season…
link to google.com
Getting him to Phx would have been hard in the deal as Brooks Green were so close to a match
Hou probably would have needed to add Cody Martin or Micic to the payroll to make it happen in a 2nd trade which Hou probably declined. Phx probably asked Martin for Cam as a 2nd linked trade and Hou probably stood its ground (and won obv)
Well, that explains it, thanks!
How do we get you on speed-dial?
Should get Brogdon out the deal helps out the rotation can play 1 or 2
$$$$
Wiz got a ton of chuckers…..
2k nation is likely preparing to riot over this. I mean, he’s worth 3 unprotected FRPs in 2k.
2k doesn’t take into account his attitude issues.
It wouldn’t, and those issues might be the reason that HOU is moving him.
But his trade value would likely be what it is in any event. Almost every guy picked around #20 in a draft’s first round that shows some stuff but doesn’t establish himself a rotation player in his first 2 years is going to carry a trade value of about 2 SRPs or less. And many of them were also the subject of pre-draft scouting reports fawning over their potential. Sure a FO or two might think something has been missed and they want to roll the dice on him. Those are likely the FOs that offer the 2 SRPs.
I was not a Cam guy coming out of the draft and my opinion has not changed too much since then, but at this price you can’t complain. Prudent business given the upside even if the floor remains low.
I was a huge Cam guy coming out of the draft. He’s still only 20 years old, which remains a huge consideration in talent evaluation. His tools are Top 5 lottery pick level.
I know you disagree with my general view that young talent is squandered without consistent, predictable PT — especially for alpha, scorer personality types.
It was wise of the Rockets to trade him because there are no more more minutes for him with KD, Amen, Jabari, DFS, and Eason ahead of him.
I hold nothing against the Whitmore’s, Kuminga’s, and Mathurin’s of the world for being frustrated with their situations.
IMO, if Whitmore gets run in Washington this year, he will light it up.
I don’t actually disagree with that view in a vacuum. While I do think it’s important for young players—some, not all, as everyone is different—to earn their minutes and be brought up at a proper pace with stacking responsibilities, I still think you need them to give them a consistent range of minutes. It doesn’t have to be 30+ mpg out of the gate, but it needs to be at least 10-15mins every single game regardless of their on-court performance and with the potential for extra run (and built from there over time). But with a player like Cam specifically, I think he’s been in the league long enough where he just needs more minutes period at this point, certainly at least in the mid 20s.
Frankly, it drives me crazy when head coaches seem to jerk young guys around without the concept of a plan. Of course, I understand development isn’t always the priority and that was certainly the case with the Rockets this past season. But I do think coaches should strive for more of a balance there even at the cost a few wins. Ultimately, I look at developing high upside young talent > home court advantage or even avoiding the play-in because if you fancy yourself a true contender, a) you will eventually have to go against the best regardless of seeding and b) that young talent could be the difference maker in the playoffs.
I have no doubt Cam’s going to put up nice popcorn stats with the Wizards and will likely generate a lot of buzz. I just question how valuable of a player he’ll ultimately become with some of the deficiencies he has (tunnel vision, decision-making, passing chops, BBIQ, etc). But good on the Wizards for taking a chance here because all you need is for one of these lower floor high upside shot-makers to pan out to have something special. And I think he’s shown enough in the NBA where you can see legitimate outlines of that.
Well, I stand corrected on your views on young player’s development and playing time. We’re in complete agreement.
> I just question how valuable of a player he’ll ultimately become
> with some of the deficiencies he has (tunnel vision, decision-
> making, passing chops, BBIQ, etc).
But I still have work to do in persuading you how important a factor age is :–) A 20 yr old that has been on an NBA roster for two years can’t be evaluated in the same way as a 22 year old that spent two years in college. And, the age component is MORE important than the experience component. This topic has been researched to death over the last few years for all sports, an the NBA has become the poster child for the dark side of the discussion. You simply cannot make an evaluation of a player at 22 years old, much less 20 years old, when it comes to areas like decision-making or court awareness. What’s now called “late-stage adolescence”, where the brain is still developing, continues until about 24 years old (as do other areas of physiology related to athleticism).
The USA, because of the pressures of high school and college, does by far the worst of developed nation. Our professional sports miss on the benefits of proper long-term athletic that other countries give their youth. The MLB does the best (the minor leagues develop players at the correct pace), followed by the NFL (which benefiits from multiple years in college), and, then the NHL. and, very last, the NBA.
The NBA has been forced by legal circumstance to draft players as teenagers, and play them before they are ready. It’s easy to identify high potential athletes at 18/19, but developing them alongside adults cannot be done without a very careful approach, which few teams (Toronto being the notable exception) take.
The NBA wishes it wasn’t this way. Draft position has become an increasingly unreliable predictor of career performance. When a competitive team makes a teenager sit on the bench, as with Kuminga or Whitmore, the problem worsens. Add to this the criticism these adolescent players consume on social media. It’s a mess.
Good move by Washington. Now all they need a young PF or C who can rebound and play defense next to Sarr to develop. Maybe trade Karlo and 2nd for one
That’s all they have to do. Start the veterans until mid season
They are going in the right direction
Cam Whitmore has a team option for over 5 mill .in 2025-26. And an expiring contract in 2026-27 for over 8 mill. This is a cap management move Rockets already at 200 mill salary. Knicks had same issue with Obi1. Cam will be due a rookie scale contract for a #1 pick next year. So he needs to play to get a bigger deal. And Rockets don’t need him so why pay him to sit. They are all in for 2025-26 season after KD trade.
Basketball fans should understand that.
Suns would have been smart to work in Whitmore in the KD trade somehow. As it is there is no PT in Houston for (16 mins) Whitmore. Eason, DFS will both get the majority of mins. Even Jeff Green a vet. Will get some. For a contending Rockets team. Withmore won’t be in rotation ……..
Rockets don’t want salary back. That’s why you take the picks.
Bulls of course PER USUAL couldnt get the job done
Sixers couldn’t muster up a couple SRPs???
All you better pay attention to Rockets. They are still young and improving. They have a good mix of youth, talent, and vets. They were 2-3 against Thunder last year. They are much better now. Thunder are defending champs. Have respect that. Rockets and Nuggets are better this year than last year. Both can take out Thunder.
KnickerbockerAl, every sentence you write is incorrect. Have you been hitting ten bottle?
Whitmore is on a rookie scale contract right now. His 3rd year of 4 years.
He doesn’t have a “team option” this year. And he doesn’t have an “expiring contract” next year.