Trade rumors continue to swirl surrounding third-year Rockets wing Cam Whitmore, with The Athletic’s Kelly Iko reporting Tuesday that Houston “will continue to work on finding Whitmore a new home, via trade.”
“Whitmore’s salary ($3.5 million for 2025-26) isn’t the deciding factor in the Rockets’ (financial) flexibility, but it’s apparent his days in Houston were numbered, long before it made any of these offseason moves,” Iko writes.
Much of the situation with Whitmore comes down to a roster crunch. The 2025-26 Rockets already have eight established rotation players between Fred VanVleet, Kevin Durant, Amen Thompson, Jabari Smith Jr., Alperen Sengun, Tari Eason, Steven Adams, and newly signed forward Dorian Finney-Smith. Second-year guard Reed Sheppard is expected to feature more prominently, and if even if he underwhelms, the alternative for those bench minutes would likely be Aaron Holiday — i.e. another point guard.
So, with at least the first nine rotation spots already spoken for, the question becomes: Are there enough available minutes for Whitmore to develop in Houston?
Drafted at No. 20 overall in the 2023 first round, Whitmore has shown flashes over his first two NBA seasons. In 98 career games, the 20-year-old has averaged 10.8 points (44.9% FG, 35.7% on 3-pointers) and 3.4 rebounds in 17.4 minutes. At 6-foot-7, 235 pounds, Whitmore is an explosive athlete who can score in a number of ways.
But inconsistency in areas such as defending and ball movement have made head coach Ime Udoka reluctant to give Whitmore a consistent rotation role. And if it looks like Whitmore is on the outside looking in for the 2025-26 rotation, it might make sense for the Rockets to explore deals, since Whitmore likely needs NBA minutes to continue his development.
A Villanova product, Whitmore will be eligible for a contract extension after next season, which could make it an important time for him to establish his value. To say the least, that’s hard to do if he isn’t playing.
Thus, it appears Whitmore is being shopped in the early days of July, perhaps with an eye on accumulating future draft equity that wouldn’t yet need developmental minutes. Stay tuned!
This article originally appeared on Rockets Wire: The Athletic: Rockets continuing to explore Cam Whitmore trade options
Reporting by Ben DuBose, Rockets Wire / Rockets Wire
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