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BREAKING: Rockets TRADE Cam Whitmore To Wizards | Will Houston REGRET This Move?



BREAKING: Rockets TRADE Cam Whitmore To Wizards | Will Houston REGRET This Move?

On today’s show, the Rockets trade Cam Whitmore to the Wizards for a pair of second round picks. Why it didn’t work out with Cam and will Houston regret this trade down the line. It’s all coming up right here at Locked on Rockets.
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Ignition sequence start. 6 5 4 3 2 1. What’s up and welcome to another edition of Locked on Rockets, your daily podcast home for everything Houston Rockets basketball. As always, I’m your host, Jackson Gatlin, native Houstononian and credentialed media member. I’m also the host of Locked on NBA Thursdays. Be sure to follow along wherever you listen to your podcast or on YouTube. Just search Locked on Rockets, where the best way you can help us grow our show is to listen every single day on a podcast platform of your choosing and then like, comment, subscribe on YouTube. Now, today’s episode is brought to you by Game Time. Download the Game Time app, create an account, and use code locked on NBA for $20 off of your first purchase. And as always, thanks so much for making Locked on Rockets part of your day every single day, whether it’s on your way to work, on your lunch break, in the gym. Thank you so much for being an everydayer. Bit of a bummer of an episode today as the Rockets reportedly trading Cam Whitmore to the Washington Wizards for a pair of future two second round picks in the future. Um, yeah, this sucks. Like, there’s no there’s no way around it. And it’s a it’s just a really unfortunate end to what we can’t even say like cuz K really didn’t get a chance to to really showcase himself with the Rockets and he is an unfortunate casualty of the accelerated pace of the Rockets rebuild. Um, and look here here’s the thing. I’ve got a bunch of thoughts that I want to share on this. And this might be a super I might be we might jump around a little bit this episode. I usually try to have things, you know, neatly formatted, three segments, what I don’t know. I’m going to try and get all my thoughts out on this, but it might not be super clean. So, we’ll see how it goes. Um, I do want to talk a little bit, you know, about, you know, will the Rockets regret this trade? Uh we’ll talk about was there better value out there than what they got back for Cam Whitmore? Why it ultimately didn’t work out with Cam Whitmore? What are some of the reasons that led to this decision? We’re going to try and unpack all of that. Um let me just start with the reporting from Shams. So Houston Rockets are trading Cam Whitmore to the Washington Wizards for two second round pick uh two second round picks. I can’t even talk. Wow. Um, and then those picks uh are reportedly uh one a 2026 Bulls second round pick and then a 2029 Kings second round pick. So at least the second round picks are of like decent value. Uh cuz th those should be decent enough second round like where those will be, you know, hopefully like you know mid4s, high 40s or I guess low 40s I should say. um from the state of both the Bulls and Kings organizations. So, let me start off by saying it. This is disappointing because obviously Cam has a ton of talent and it’s unfortunate because there were various points in his first two seasons with the Rockets where it felt like given the flashes of talent that we saw that she that he should have been afforded a bigger opportunity within the rotation. And unfortunately that opportunity never really came to pass. And it certainly feels like this whole situation it’s not all Cam’s fault. It’s also not all the Rockets fault. But it there’s there’s blame on both sides. Absolutely. I think there’s a level of maybe some inflexibility that Emmeodoka had with Cam. Now granted, we don’t know the whole story. We don’t know all the behind the scenes. We don’t know what was going on at practices, at shootarounds, you know, just we don’t know what Cam’s work ethic was like behind the scenes, but from what we did see and from the reporting that we have heard, right, there was kind of a disconnect at times between Cam and Eay as far as expectations, as far as buyin, as far as what Eay wanted out of Cam in the role that he could have had on this team. And when you go and look at the reporting surrounding this trade, essentially the Rockets worked with Cam Whitmore to send him to his preferred destination. There’s reporting from Shams, additional reporting from Shams that says that the Rockets had multiple offers on the table for Cam Whitmore, but wanted to see him go somewhere that gave him a legitimate chance to thrive in his career. And so the Rockets may have had a better offer. They might have had like a late first on the table for Cam Whitmore. Um and in fact, there was additional reporting elsewhere that that said that Cam Whitmore was originally a part of the package to go to the Phoenix Suns, but the Suns preferred getting the five second round picks. So that kind of tells you where how other teams are evaluating Cam Whitmore at this point. the fact that the Suns chose five second round picks over Cam Whitmore and getting those second round picks ultimately turned into getting Rashier Fleming for Phoenix. So I think it, you know, maybe they they view things as working out pretty well in that regard. So it very much feels and looks like right there was some mismanagement by the Rockets in their behalf I think and in particular from Eime Odoka in the inability to give Cam some consistent playing time to try and work through some of his deficiencies as a player to try and work through some of the defensive struggles to try and work through some of the effort issues um to try and work through some of the, you know, tunnel vision offensively. And when you look at other players, you know, namely, you know, ahead of him in the rotation, Jaylen Green, who was afforded countless opportunities to work through his deficiencies as a player and become a significantly better, well-rounded prospect because of it, and then Cam wasn’t really afforded those chances. It’s disappointing to see. But the flip side of that, right, is that Cam very clearly didn’t want to buy into whatever role the Rockets had envisioned for him. Because at the end of the day, you know, especially when you look back at Eay’s comments from his exit press conference, you have to imagine that the Rockets had a pretty good idea that they were going to be going after Kevin Durant at the end of the season and that they knew that that was going to be their next play to to try and get KD to to dangle Jaylen. I hell, you could make you if you really want to go tinfoil hat conspiracy theory. There’s a reason Jaylen Green’s contract was structured the way that it was. And it just so happened that Jaylen Green making $33 million and Dylan Brooks making $22 million was the exact amount of salary that you needed to get to Kevin Durant’s salary. I’m just saying. Um, so I think that when Eay talked at the press conference, he talked about bigger roles for both Reed and Cam this upcoming season. And I think that was truthful. I think that he kind of knew that the Rockets were going to try and make a swing for KD and had that worked, right, and and it did that there would have been a role for Cam on the team this upcoming season. But it might not it’s it’s not the role that Cam sees for himself, right? And that’s the that’s the disconnect between what Cam wants for himself as a player and for his future career and what Eay and the Rockets see Cam as being on this team, which is they needed a guy that would buy into his role. They needed a guy who Cam has all the gifts, all the talent to be a really important part or could have been a really important part of this team had he bought in, right? But that role might have only meant, you know, 10, 15 minutes a night tops coming off the bench, offensive spark, buy in defensively, play hard on that end, give give a 100% effort every night. And those were things that it it feels like Cam was unwilling to do, I guess, in order to stay in Houston. And so the Rockets ultimately worked with Cam to get him to a a location where he feels like he’ll have a chance to thrive and he will in Washington. He might not start for the Wizards, but he’ll certainly get an opportunity to earn his role in Washington on a very bad team on a team that has a bunch of other young talent. And you know, it’s a great upside swing for the Wizards. So, I want I I have other thoughts and like normally I do a great tease and we get into the next segment, it’s like next segment we’re talking about this. I just have more thoughts on this that I want to get out and it’s just going to be kind of like word vomit as we navigate through this. So, this is like the worst tease in all of teases, but stick around. We’re going to keep talking about the Cam Whitmore stuff. We’ll get there in just one moment. First, today’s episode is brought to you by Game Time. Look, we’ve all been there. logging on early and waiting forever for concert tickets to go on sale only to lose your spot for a show that you’ve been dying to see. Live music should be about making memories, not dealing with the stress of ticket shopping. That’s where Game Time comes in. Game time makes getting concert tickets faster and easier than ever. Prices actually drop as it gets closer to Showtime, and you can save up to 60% off with their killer last minute deals. Look, game time is awesome for any events happening near you. It could be concerts. It could be going to see the Astros. It could be upcoming tickets for the Texans this next season or again Rockets tickets next season. There’s so many different options there. Uh comedy and theater events. You name it, they’ve got it over on Game Time. My personal favorite thing about using the Game Time app, though, is it’s fully transparent from start to finish. You know exactly how much you’re going to pay for your tickets. They don’t hit you with the hidden fees or price gouge you at the end. So, take the guesswork out of buying your tickets with Game Time. Download the Game Time app. Create an account. Use code locked on NBA for $20 off of your first purchase. Terms apply. Again, create an account. Redeem code locked on NBA. That’s L O C E D O NA for $20 off. Download the Game Time app today. Last minute tickets, lowest price guaranteed. And continuing on here at Locked on Rockets, your daily podcast, home for everything Houston Rockets basketball. All right, trying to navigate my way through these additional Cam Whitmore thoughts. Um, so first and foremost, I do want to I want to make this point and I want to made it I wanted I have it in my notes and I wanted to make this abundantly clear. Uh, the Cam Whitmore trade is not as a result of the direction the team is going this upcoming season and it’s not a result of the Kevin Durant trade. In fact, the KD trade gave Cam an opportunity to have a role or to have a bigger role, a a more clearly defined role with the team this upcoming season. Because had the Rockets not made the KD trade if the Rockets still had Jaylen Green and Dylan Brooks on the roster, where in the hell was Cam going to get his minutes in the first place? It would have been impossible. At least with the Rockets moving Jaylen and Dylan and packaging two of their key rotation guys together to get KD, it opened up some additional room in the rotation for Cam to have a potential role. Even if it’s a small role, 10, 12, 15 minutes a night, whatever, he could have had a role. And at least from, you know, my understanding of the situation, the Rockets were optimistic about that being the case potentially moving forward. is that and you again you go back and look at the exit press conference with Eay Odoka talking about bigger roles for Reed Shepard and Cam Whitmore you have to imagine that EA had it in his mind that okay if we can go get KD then I’ll have more minutes for Reed and Cam to like give them a give them a chance but Cam clearly thinks that he’s you know deserving of a bigger role and honestly that’s a fair thing to think you have all this talent in the world you’ve clearly got you know at least next level scoring talent. Um, and I think that from the Rockets perspective, you know, you don’t want to keep a disgruntled asset on the roster. There are I see a lot of Rockets fans who are like, “Oh my god, only two second round picks. Should they should have just kept him like just keep him on the team.” You don’t want to keep a guy on the team that is unhappy in the situation because that’s how you get guys who are, you know, locker room cancers who start to, you know, play disgruntled or they they they bring down the vibes of the rest of the team, all that. And I will say that this deal is a continuation in a long line of deals that Rafel Stone has made as the Rockets general manager since taking over for Daryl my in trying to not even trying to because I feel like the Rockets have truly rehabilitated their image from the Daryl my era because back in the myy era my got a lot of flack for treating players like assets, right? like, you know, numbers on a spreadsheet instead of treating them like living, breathing human beings that have complex thoughts, feelings, emotions, desires, dreams, hopes, ambitions, all that stuff, right? And the moment that Rafelstone took over for Eudoka, sorry, not for Emodoka. Oops. The moment that Refellstone took over for Daryl my he made it a point to work closely with all those disgruntled veterans and guys who didn’t want to be on a rebuilding team and trying to get guys to their preferred destinations or buying them out so they could go to a team that they wanted to go to. all those different moves, all those levers that he had to pull dealing with situations like PJ Tucker, John Wall, um Demarcus Cousins, Eric Gordon further down the line, like just working through all these different vets and essentially getting guys to their preferred destinations. And so for the Rockets, who again reportedly had multiple offers on the table for Kam Whitmore, they likely could have just taken the best offer available, right? And it might have been a team like, I don’t know, the Denver Nuggets who like wanted to fork over like a really, you know, heavily protected first round pick somewhere way down the line or what, who knows, right? There there were teams out there that were certainly interested in Cam. Maybe there was a team that was willing to offer three or four second round picks instead of just two or better quality second round picks. Ultimately, the Rockets worked with Cam and his representation to get him to a destination that he felt like would be best for his career moving forward because Cam is going into year three and this will be his opportunity to really carve out a name for himself and then he’ll be extension eligible next summer. So, if Cam balls out this upcoming year for the Wizards, then he’ll be like, “Yo, give me my money. Like, clearly I’m worth it. I didn’t have a chance in Houston, but now I have a chance and you can see what I can do.” So, I think it’s a smart play by the Rockets front office ultimately because if Cam couldn’t or wouldn’t buy into the vision that they had for him here in Houston, you don’t want to keep a disgruntled player on the roster. And it does pay dividends at the end of the day because other other players, other agents, um, other organizations, right, they take note of how executives, GMs treat their players. And so far the Rockets have done like a complete 180 to where with how Rafll Stone treats his players and the fact that they have Emmy Odoka, very much a player friendly head coach, a guy that players want to play for. Um, Houston’s got a a very desirable culture that has been built here in in a very short amount of time after being one of the worst teams in the NBA for three straight years during the Silus era. So, I want to give the Rockets front office credit for that even though on the surface it seems like, you know, they, you know, a miss or whatever. Um, but also at the same time, you know, I want to point out here to to fans that are still frustrated by, and look, again, I’m not going to hide the I’m I’m frustrated by it, right? Like, if I could have had my my ideal outcome, it would have been keep Cam and try to work it out in some capacity, right? Keep him. See if you can get him to buy into the role. and if he just really doesn’t want to, then flip him at the trade deadline or something. Um, but clearly not the direction that they wanted to go and you know, they’re they’re trying to do right by Cam in this situation. Um, I will say though that like the hit rate for like 20th picks in the NBA draft, it’s not like the Rockets are just like burning assets left and right. cuz I know I’ve seen some Rockets fans like point out like, “Oh my god, this is like yet another first round pick down the drain cuz it’s, you know, Josh Christopher and Usman Garuba and Tai Tai Washington and now Cam Whitmore.” And it’s like, “Okay, yeah, but where are those other three guys at right now?” Like, where Josh Christopher, Tai Washington, and Usman Gruba aren’t doing much of anything right now at the NBA level. So, it’s not the end of the world. It’s like, okay, yeah, you can go back and look at the draft and be like, “Oh, well, you could have had this guy and you could have had this guy.” The draft is a crapshoot in the first place. Like, yes, it sucks that you can go back and look at the the the Cam Whitmore draft and think about I don’t even have the draft pulled up in front of me and I can’t remember the different guys that they could have had off the top of my head and I’m not going to bother pulling it up off rip. So, just like yes, you could go back and look at that draft and see the prospects taken after Cam Whitmer be like, “Oh, the Rockets could have had him and he would have been a better part of the rotation.” That’s not how that works, right? Because at the end of the day, the Rockets just didn’t have the space in the rotation to give Ken Whitmore the necessary developmental runway or they or you know, they could have had the space ultimately didn’t. I think that’s a little bit of a failing on the coaching staff and Emmy Odoka. Again, I’m I’m there there’s fault on both sides here. Um, but I also like I don’t subscribe to the notion that it’s like, you know, the end of the world. Sometimes first round picks just don’t hit and that’s okay. the Rockets, even after moving Cam to Washington, which again I feel like still would have happened or would have especially happened if they hadn’t moved on from Jaylen Green and Dylan Brooks. Um they still have five of the seven members of the young core and those guys are all going to have plenty of opportunities to continue to grow and showcase themselves and develop moving forward. And that’s one other major point that I wanted to address here about the Cam Whitmore situation and and Rockets fans concerns with Eno Udoka and his supposed lack of development for the young guys. We’re going to get there in just one moment. And final segment here at Locked on Rockets, your daily podcast, home for everything Houston Rockets basketball. All right, I’m going to try and get all the final thoughts out about the Cam Whitmore trade and this whole situation, but I I will um the big one that I want to focus on here is and look, I want to preface this by saying I am by no means like an Eudoka apologist, right? I’ve been critical of his offensive schemes or lack thereof at times. Um I when he first came to Houston, I was like begging I was like bring an offensive coordinator with him, right? like like pair him with an offensive coordinator cuz Emmeodoka sometimes very much feels like the defensive version of Mike Danton where Mike Danton was an offensive you know soant genius whatever 7 seconds or less Suns you know had a great way about you know constructing and and and orchestrating NBA offenses but defense wasn’t his specialty and so he brought in Jeff Bezelic to be his defensive coordinator and at times it certainly feels like EA could use a more offensive-minded guy as his like lead assistant to help orchestrate a better, you know, more smoothly run Rockets offensive setup. Um, so but with that being said, I I don’t buy into this idea that like there are like Rockets fans who are like dooming and glooming on social media crying about the fact that like, oh, here it comes. And you know, EA’s all about he only wants to win and he’s going to start trading all the young guys for veterans to be able to win at all costs. And first it was Jaylen, now it’s Cam. And and again, I maintain that Cam likely still would have been dealt even if Jaylen was still on the team. like it felt like that was going to be the direction this thing went ultimately because if Cam feels the way that he does and doesn’t want to buy into the role that the Rockets have for him, which they had a role for him, then it is what it is. Um to me, Eay has done a great job helping grow and develop Alper and Shingun and Amin Thompson. Uh, Tari and Jabari are slightly more ancillary pieces and so their development looks a little bit different than it did with Shingun or or Will with Amin Thompson as he continues to grow. Eay did a phenomenal job helping Jaylen Green grow and develop. Jaylen in the two years that he’s spent with Eay has certainly grown to become a better player. Unfortunately, he didn’t rise to the level that the Rockets really needed him to become to not ultimately be dealt for an established star in Kevin Durant, but Jaylen absolutely grew and became a better player under Emmy Odoka. So, saying that Udoka doesn’t know how to develop players is just absolutely outlandish. And in fact, like un obviously the whole thing in Boston happened, right? But EA took two very young stars in Jason Tatum and Jaylen Brown who were entering years five and six respectively of their NBA careers. He took that team to the finals. That was a very young team with young stars leading that team and he took them to the finals and he would have continued to grow and build that team and obviously they eventually won a title with Joe Moula taking over the helm. But like the foundation of that team was kind of set by Brad Stevens and then it was solidified by Emmy Odoka in the one year that he was there and took him to the finals and then Joe Misoula was able to elevate that team and and credit to Missoula because I think he’s a fantastic head coach and he’s done some fantastic offensive stuff over there that that maybe Eay TBD we don’t know is he capable of can he get more creative with his offensive schemes? Will things look differently on offense? you know, where things look different on offense now that Eay has like a true, you know, 1A premier scorer to use uh in some of his offensive sets and actions and things like that. Who knows? We’ll see. Um, but I don’t I don’t subscribe to that notion whatsoever. And I think that, you know, hopefully we’ll see, right, the fruits of that developmental labor very soon this next season with a guy like Reed Shepard who, you know, Reed was the final draft pick of the Rockets rebuilding process. And he comes in with pretty decent expectations as the number three overall pick. Um, you know, and I I see I see some Rockets fans who are like, “Why’ they tra why’ they get rid of Cam and they still have Reed Shepard when Reed hasn’t shown anywhere near, you know, as high of Flashes as Cam?” Well, it’s because Cam’s had two years and Cam plays a different role. There’s different expectations. It’s a different position. like all these different things and at least as far as we know, you know, from thing from, you know, the questions and some of the behind the scenes stuff, whatever, is that like Reed, at least internally, checks all the boxes that the Rockets want out of him and the role that they have for him. You know, Reed isn’t sitting there banging a drum, wanting a bigger role. He wasn’t disgruntled about losing the role that he did have as a rookie. Um, and so the Rockets have a little bit more time to figure out what they have with Reed Shepard before, you know, abandoning Ship or cutting bait and giving up on him or what have you. You know, if if Reed can’t at least be the backup point guard this next year behind Fred Vanble and Men Thompson, then yeah, like there’s going to be some major concerns and we might start having conversations about like, okay, is Reed going to actually pan out? But he gets the benefit of the doubt at least for now. Um the other thing with the CAM stuff, right, is the Rockets are in a position where um financially being right up against the first apron this season and then factoring in things like extensions for Kevin Durant and Tari E a little bit further down the line, a Min Thompson’s likely rookie scale max extension, um things of that nature. uh it’s not the worst thing in the world to move on from Cam because again at the end of the day if you had made it through the end of this next year you know what is an extension look like for Cam Whitmore are you willing to extend a guy like that a guy who literally wasn’t even part of your rotation and you just want like here’s the thing is the two members of the core seven of young prospects the Rockets have gotten rid of they traded Jaylen Green for a top 10 player in the NBA and they traded Cam Whitmore for a couple second round picks, which yeah, is a little bit of a disappointing return, but the Jaylen position clearly upgraded with KD. And then Cam wasn’t even a part of the rotation for this past season. You know, he played some spot minutes here and there and he had a couple games here and there where he popped off and things looked cool and it was, you know, Cam doing Cam things, but Cam himself as a player was not without his shortcomings. Um, and so at this stage of where the Rockets were at, they just felt like it was time to move on. and Cam, you know, didn’t want the role that they had for him. And I feel like I’ve said that a bunch already on this show, so I feel like I’m hitting the wall where I’m repeating myself now. Um, but the other thing that I will say, I think this is the final thought that I have on all this. um is that I don’t think this is a I don’t think this is a sign of I guess what is to come of the Rockets and it’s like oh all the young guys are going to get traded and you know the Rockets are going to become this old veteran laden team. No, the Rockets are doing a great job blending their youth with veteran talent. And I think that’s the important takeaway from this is, you know, the whole reason the the reason the KD trade makes a lot of sense and the reason it’s such a fascinating move is because you get to contend for the next two or three years with Katie and I’m sure and the Rockets may make another couple ancillary moves here or there. Um, but as it currently kind of stands, right, this is like the best version of this team and the only way this team realistically gets significantly better is through internal growth and development from the young guys. Or maybe you can swing a deal by like packaging Dorian Finny Smith and Clint Capella for somebody who’s making like roughly 20 million a year as like a reserve, you know, a reserve wing who’s maybe got some more offensive punch than Dorian Finny Smith or what have you. Like there’s there’s some creative stuff that the Rockets can do to bolster the roster a little bit later on without sacrificing more of the young guys. But I think it’s clear with Shingu, you know, their commitment to Shingun, uh, the extension for Jabari, the hopeful, you know, extension coming down the pipeline for Tari Een. Uh, we know that they they love Amen Thompson beyond everybody else, that he is the truly like one untouchable piece on the roster, and we know that they’re high internally on Reed Shepard. I don’t think that the Rockets are going to suddenly turn around and start wheeling and dealing all these young pieces for older over-the-hill veterans to try and contend for titles in these next one or two years. They might still make a move here or there, but I think in large part, the reason that this thing is so beautiful in the way that it’s likely to work out is even if the Rockets do disappoint and don’t achieve a title in the next two or three years with Kevin Durant as their best player, they still have such an incredibly bright future with all these young pieces and guys who want somebody hopefully will be able to take the mantle as best player on the team from Kevin Durant hopefully before he hangs him up. Like that would be the beauty of it is like if Amin Thompson has this massive year three leap and looks like one of the best players in the NBA next year, then suddenly you’ve got a top 10 guy in KD and a pair of blossoming allstars in Alpar Shingun and Amin Thompson, which is very much a possible outcome here. So, it sucks that it didn’t work out with Cam, but it’s not the end of the world. like and I will say actual final thought is this does open up a roster spot for the Rockets. So they have currently their 15th slot open. Um and they are they’re only like like a scoch under 2 million below the uh the first apron where they’re hardcapped at the first apron line. But if they elect to wave Nate Williams, who has a non-G guaranteed deal, they could have about like three and a half million dollars of space between, you know, where they’re at financially and where the apron is, which would give them the flexibility to add one more piece, like a guy on a vet minimum deal, maybe like some people have suggested maybe Malcolm Brogden as kind of a combo guard, veteran combo guard to have off the bench. maybe some like, you know, Reed Shepard insurance if he doesn’t work out right away this next season or if Fred Vanble gets hurt, things like that. Um, and that is an option that the Rockets have. But if I had to, if I was a betting man, which you can be if you go to fanuel.com, uh I would wager that the Rockets probably elect to leave that 14 that 15th slot open and wait until they get into the season and maybe there’s a name that shows up on the buyout market or another guy, maybe Damen Lillard wants to come to Houston. Just saying. Um, but you know, the Rockets have options there, uh, with that 15th slot. And that’s part of the reason why they didn’t trade CAM to get like another player back for him and they just got the draft capital because it gives them a little bit of financial flexibility and some maneuverability to be able to go sign another vet minimum guy or at least receive a guy who’s making you know three half million or less uh by way of a trade and be able to add one more piece that way. Uh, so unlikely I think that we see any more movement as far as roster changes between now and the start of the season at this point. Um, maybe they surprise and maybe there’s a name out there on the free agent market that they do want to get their hands on. Maybe Refellstone surprises everybody with another trade. I doubt it at this point. Um, but again, the main takeaway for me is just like it’s disappointing that this is the end of the Cam Whitmore era in Houston. He had a tremendous amount of talent. He definitely had some deficiencies that he wasn’t really given the opportunity to iron out uh like other players were within the rotation. Uh and because of that and because of the lack of a clearly defined role or at least a role that matched his expectations, he was disgruntled. Rockets worked with him to find a suitable situation, he gets sent to Washington and that’s it. Um, and now you move forward, right, with still an incredibly talented roster and a roster that on paper should be battling for the best spot in the Western Conference and could potentially be a team that’s going to dethrone the OKC Thunder. So, with that, those are my thoughts on the my immediate kind of reaction to the Cam Whitmore situation. I want your thoughts, right? Is this a move that’s going to come back to bite the Rockets in the ass? Are they going to regret trading Cam Whitmore to the Wizards? Give me your thoughts in the YouTube comments. Um, but with that, that’s going to do it for today’s episode. As always, thanks so much for checking out the show. Remember, the best way to help us grow the show is to listen every single day on a podcast platform of your choosing and then like, comment, subscribe on YouTube. But as always, thank you so much for watching. Thank you so much for listening and we look forward to having you back right here at Locked on Rockets, your daily podcast home for everything Houston Rockets basketball.

BREAKING: Rockets TRADE Cam Whitmore To Wizards | Will Houston REGRET This Move?

Host Jackson Gatlin (@JTGatlin) analyzes the Rockets’ decision to send Whitmore to the Washington Wizards for second-round draft picks. He explores the reasons behind this trade, including potential conflicts between Whitmore and coach Ime Udoka. The discussion covers the impact on Houston’s young core, featuring Alperen Sengun and Amen Thompson, and addresses concerns about the team’s direction post-Kevin Durant acquisition. Gatlin also examines the financial implications and speculates on future roster moves.

Tune in for an in-depth breakdown of how this trade reshapes the Rockets’ strategy and what it means for their upcoming season.

#Rockets #NBA #CamWhitmore

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40 Comments

  1. Wtf…Why would we do this 🤦🏾‍♂️…Two second rounders is wayyy below value for Cam. Now we have one less shooter on the roster for absolutely no value. We are by far a worse team, and need shooting—- especially since we are in win now mode

  2. I feel like we will regret this trade in years to come!! I think his upside is better than what we got out j. Green!! I wish we would have given him a true opportunity to show his talent!! I think he's a star on the making he still has that chip on his shoulders from the draft!! I wish the best for him!!! Go Rockets!!!!

  3. Still have Amen, AL-Pi, Jabari, Tari, and Reed. I find it hard to believe we will REGRET trading him. We should not have been able to draft him in the first place. The ROCKETS still have an EXTREMELY bright future!! 🤷🏾‍♂️🚀🚀⬆️⬆️

  4. I'm not disappointed that we traded him. One way or another, there wouldn't have been a legitimate way to keep 6 young players we drafted in the long term, and Cam being the odd one out, not fitting with the team, and not jelling with Ime and the coaching staff kind of meant he was the go to sacrifice. But why now, you could have let him play some this year, maybe bolster his trade value and get something more. Even now, you should have gotten more than 2 seconds.

    I kind of understand the Wizards location, hometown for Cam, and we avoid sending him to a potential contender/ rival such as the Lakers, and I guess we wanted to save some cap space, but it feels like a trade that happened just for the sake of trading Cam. He might have been disliked by the coaching staff, but was it so fervent that they needed to offload him immediately.

    I get that we are trying to win now, but trading two players under 23, regardless of whether they have been disappointing, is just a bit too rash.

    It's just weird altogether. Kind of left a bitter taste after a great offseason. Hopefully we don't regret it. I'm really hoping this is some great Rafael Stone scheme to end up below the luxury tax (which, do we even achiev that) and get ourselves into a comfortable position to acquire a backup guard at some point during the season if we need to.

  5. Wizards fan here, Win/Win deal for me. Yes, Cam was a first round pick, but 2 years of his rookie deal are up (overall value down). Wiz add a great piece to the rebuild who will get run, Rockets get 2 VERY good picks. Bulls and Kings are just as bad as the Wizards, and more importantly, have way worse front offices, those picks have good value. Bulls 2026 2nd will be in the 30s. Great deal overall.

  6. I no longer have respect for Ime nor Stone. This is a major BLUNDER!

    Cam is a generational talent. And when he make Ime and Stone look stupid for trading this man, Rockets fans MUST call for the FIRING of an incompetent FOOL (Rafael Stone) thst thought Amen Thompson was better than Cam Whitmore! 😤

  7. btw, off topic (don't have much chance to interact with Rockets fans), would Rockets fans be pissed about a Jabari for Derrick White trade? I'd do that in a second if Houston, tbh

  8. This was the right move for both parties.

    People need to realize we aren’t in the Slias era no more we are done developing players the rebuild is over. We are trying to win a championship and to win a championship you need to be able to play and accept a certain role.

    Cam sealed his fate because of his inablity or his immaturity of not wanting playing a certain role on the team which is to play defense mainly and be a scorer off the bench.

    He has all the talent in the world but at where we are as a team you need to do more than score and Cam just wasn’t able to accept the role he would have with the team.

    I’ll give Stone credit he took a less of a stellar deal so that Cam could get a lot of minutes and thrive and that’s on a rebuilding Wizards teams who are slowly gathering some really nice players they going to be legit in like two years in my opinion. Also he gets to go home and play in front of friends and family.

    Also we are sending him out East instead of the West.

    So yeah win win for both sides Cam gets to ball out and we now know the core members of the franchise are.

    Amen, Sengun, Reed, Jabari and Tari those are the young guys that’s going to be key figures in leading us to a championship good video Jackson

  9. Happy that Cam has a chance to go to team where he can actually play and grow. Hopefully it's a great situation for both Cam and the Rockets. I still believe that Ime has something personal against Cam.

  10. All yall are overhyping cam get outta here. He isn’t even a proven player, he ceiling doesn’t even include being top 3 option on a contending team, would’ve been cool to keep him but grow some yall acting like we missed on some Kobe prospect

  11. It had to be done… Cam feels more like a talented kid that has a couple of clubs not full golf bag.. the Bulls 26 2nd is going to be extremely low almost a first and after trading 5 2nds for KD getting cheaper assests back and still sending Cam back home with a chance to excel is a good move especially if he didn't want to be here anymore. Wish him the best but still the Rockets have Tari, Jabari, Amen, Alpi, and Reed Shepherd as their young core players to mix in with the vets to try to win…. and top of that still holding the suns 27 and 29 FRPs is solid…

  12. Trai next you got get a guard they not cheap kd trade just going to kill this team they have to get a guard reed not it😊

  13. I understand your frustration, but Cam was something that fell in their laps and once he got there, they didn’t like what they had…. They probably could’ve got a lot more, but it’s better to get rid of cancer before it starts. His own college coach would not vouch for him going into the draft.

  14. They didn't really have a choice but to trade him. He wants out cause he just can't get mins on this team. This is common in the NBA when you are a good team with a lot of picks or if you just have a lot of picks in general. The irony is that he might find it hard to get steady minutes with the Wizards as well. They have vets and a ton of young players in the same position as him. He is going to have to earn it just like in Houston. He needed to go to a team with poor depth like the Lakers, but Houston wasn't going to send him there. This is one good aspect of the expansion as too many players with potential are just not getting a chance to play. You could easily form a couple of decent expansion teams with the lower levels of the OKC, Houston, Wizards, Jazz, Nets, Grizzlies and Blazers 11-18 players.

  15. Dummies trade of the year. Cam is 25ppg player giving 30min+. Trade him for picks WTF that's stupid!! Huge loss!

  16. You’re absolutely right to feel that way — trading Cam Whitmore could very well come back to haunt the Houston Rockets. The kid is electric. Explosive scorer, powerful off the dribble, and not afraid of the moment. When you’ve got a young talent like that — someone who can create his own shot and bring instant offense off the bench — you don’t just move him unless you’re getting a clear upgrade or you’re overloaded at that position, which Houston wasn’t.

    During that series against the Warriors, when Houston’s offense hit cold stretches, that’s exactly when you needed someone like Cam to check in and start attacking. You don’t win playoff games just locking people up — you need buckets. And while Coach Ime Udoka is a strong defensive-minded coach, there’s a time when you’ve got to pivot and trust your scorers. Cam was that wildcard. Sitting him? That hurt.

    Now that he’s going to Washington (assuming that’s where he landed), they might be the real winners here. If the Wizards give him freedom and structure, they might just have a future star on their hands. He has all the tools — athleticism, confidence, a scorer’s mentality — and sometimes all a young player needs is the right situation to blossom. Like you said, he could very well become a franchise player if he’s developed properly.

    Houston may have just made a classic “short-term control over long-term potential” mistake. That was definitely a bad chess move.!

  17. This is more of a sympathy do-right-by-player trade. Rockets front office know this was a bad trade but did it for Cam’s happiness and future. Ethical thing to do. That way they leave on good terms and don’t burn bridges

  18. Not getting a first rounder for Cam is blackeye for Stone. This and not being able to trade Jock Landale directly to MEM for Huff and a 2nd was huge miss. So disappointing.

    Unless Stone is making roster room to sign Dame Lillard. 🤔

  19. Here is the thing, when you are going for a championship you have to build in contingencies. Fans are fine with them building around KD, but we also know KD gets injured. In which case this team would look different offensively. All I'm saying is Reed needs to be who they think he is.

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