Cam Whitmore to the Washington Wizards

[firedavidkahn]

Cam Whitmore is in a prime spot to win MIP next year.

[Anderson Hunt]

Seems odd for HOU to trade him for what seems like low value, probably expecting a 2nd(31-40) which is ok i guess but he was a 1st round pick 2 years ago. It especially seems odd when they just traded Green, youd expect them to have more opportunity for him to play more now. I get them impression they're going for a more mature locker room getting rid of those guys

Excellent points. Obviously, Thompson slides to starting two-guard now, but who else gets minutes there? Shepherd? Eason? Finney-Smith?

Is a VanFleet/Shepherd backcourt big enough?

The Rockets are switch heavy on defense so the SG, SF, PF positions are all interchangeable. Fred and Reed might get some burn together, we'll see. It mainly depends on the matchup. Fred and Holiday got minutes together last season so it's possible Ime is open to that.

So Eason and Finney-Smith will get minutes at SG. Got it.

I think the Rockets need more scoring, especially in the backcourt. By my estimation, they actually needed Whitmore's skill-set, so unless they have plans to sign a scoring SG, this trade was extremely short-sighted.

To me, Whitmore had a legitimate chance to become their third(or fourth) leading scorer.

[HardenGoat]

Massive steal. He must have wanted to go there to be on a rebuilding team and they just granted him the wish. Now he can shine. I think he will be an all star at some point.

[hardenASG13]

Excellent points. Obviously, Thompson slides to starting two-guard now, but who else gets minutes there? Shepherd? Eason? Finney-Smith?

Is a VanFleet/Shepherd backcourt big enough?

The Rockets are switch heavy on defense so the SG, SF, PF positions are all interchangeable. Fred and Reed might get some burn together, we'll see. It mainly depends on the matchup. Fred and Holiday got minutes together last season so it's possible Ime is open to that.

So Eason and Finney-Smith will get minutes at SG. Got it.

I think the Rockets need more scoring, especially in the backcourt. By my estimation, they actually needed Whitmore's skill-set, so unless they have plans to sign a scoring SG, this trade was extremely short-sighted.

To me, Whitmore had a legitimate chance to become their third(or fourth) leading scorer.

They can run a lineup of FVV/Thompson/Eason/KD/Sengun. There's plenty of offense there. Eason and Thompson need to play more minutes together.

[nate33]

How are Wizards planning to keep a pick with Middelton, McCullum, Smart, Kispert and Olynyk along with improved Sarr, Bilal, Bub ?

Half the team isn't even old enough to purchase alcohol yet. Sarr, Bub and AJ, just turned 20. Bilal is still only 20 (turns 21 in a few weeks). Tre Johnson is 19.

Middleton has to be load managed. Smart won't play much. Olynyk is 34 and borderline unplayable on defense. McCollum is probably the only vet that will play over 20 minutes a game.

Finally, the Wizards have strategically left a gaping hole in rebounding. It's a good way for players to post good numbers in points, rebounds, assists, and blocks to boost their trade stock, yet still lose games.

[BigGargamel]

Whitmore is a bucket. Steal for the Wizards.

He might be a 20+ppg guy this season

Don't see it. He's not that great and Washington has a bunch of guys they actually drafted themselves that they will prioritize development with. Whitmore will still be a part time player.

[MrTribbiani]

Excellent points. Obviously, Thompson slides to starting two-guard now, but who else gets minutes there? Shepherd? Eason? Finney-Smith?

Is a VanFleet/Shepherd backcourt big enough?

The Rockets are switch heavy on defense so the SG, SF, PF positions are all interchangeable. Fred and Reed might get some burn together, we'll see. It mainly depends on the matchup. Fred and Holiday got minutes together last season so it's possible Ime is open to that.

So Eason and Finney-Smith will get minutes at SG. Got it.

I think the Rockets need more scoring, especially in the backcourt. By my estimation, they actually needed Whitmore's skill-set, so unless they have plans to sign a scoring SG, this trade was extremely short-sighted.

To me, Whitmore had a legitimate chance to become their third(or fourth) leading scorer.

Not a chance. He's not a good enough passer or defender to stay on the court for an extended period of time.

[MoreyWins]

Excellent points. Obviously, Thompson slides to starting two-guard now, but who else gets minutes there? Shepherd? Eason? Finney-Smith?

Is a VanFleet/Shepherd backcourt big enough?

The Rockets are switch heavy on defense so the SG, SF, PF positions are all interchangeable. Fred and Reed might get some burn together, we'll see. It mainly depends on the matchup. Fred and Holiday got minutes together last season so it's possible Ime is open to that.

So Eason and Finney-Smith will get minutes at SG. Got it.

I think the Rockets need more scoring, especially in the backcourt. By my estimation, they actually needed Whitmore's skill-set, so unless they have plans to sign a scoring SG, this trade was extremely short-sighted.

To me, Whitmore had a legitimate chance to become their third(or fourth) leading scorer.

The Rockets offensive rating was exactly the same with Jalen on or off the floor. Their offensive rating had a slight increase with Jalen and Cam off the floor. The defensive rating for those two scenarios was better with those players off the floor. The stats say they won't miss those two. Durant being an upgrade to Jalen in every way possible will hopefully be a bonus to what the Rockets already had going on.

[3ddman23]

So now he can continue to be over hyped when he averages over 20 ppg on a team that wins 20 games now....

Never seen a player drafted 20th and commanding a massive 2x 2nds hyped as much as this guy.

The fact that this thread is 7 pages long is all you need to know about the hype this man has... Again for a guy traded for 2 second rounders..

[Optms]

So now he can continue to be over hyped when he averages over 20 ppg on a team that wins 20 games now....

Never seen a player drafted 20th and commanding a massive 2x 2nds hyped as much as this guy.

The fact that this thread is 7 pages long is all you need to know about the hype this man has... Again for a guy traded for 2 second rounders..

Its already been reported Houston made this move to send him to the best possible situation to blossom.

They could have gotten more. So this narrative that all he's worth is 2 2nd rounders is automatically debunked. As for the "attitude" slander. I'm still waiting to see what attitude some people are talking about. Like I said, been following him since day 1 and he has never displayed any personality problems. Zero. Is not the outspoken type either. Just pure lies coming from some posters on here. I wonder why, really.

[Optms]

Whitmore is a bucket. Steal for the Wizards.

He might be a 20+ppg guy this season

Don't see it. He's not that great and Washington has a bunch of guys they actually drafted themselves that they will prioritize development with. Whitmore will still be a part time player.

Wizards don't have anyone outside of McCollum that can score like Whitmore. He's gonna push his way into the 1st or 2nd option pretty quickly. He can score in his sleep.

[cupcakesnake]

Whitmore is a complicated piece. I loved him in the draft and thought of him as the SG version of Amar'e Stoudemire: unstoppable athlete with nice jump shot counter.

However, the NBA is different now, and guys who can't pass or create are harder to fit into lineups. Whitemore can score, but he doesn't fit into the offense because when he touches the ball he only has the "drive" or "shoot" decision trees. He has to level up as a playmaker for his scoring to matter as part of a good offense. Drives have to have passing counters. The Rockets were happy to let him loose every now and then in the regular season, but he wasn't a serious enough player yet to be part of the playoff rotation.

[Anderson Hunt]

The Rockets need Bradley Beal.

PG - Van Fleet - Holiday
SG - Thompson - Beal -
C -- Sergun - Adams
PF - Durant - Smith
SF - F-Smith - Eason

[Shaka_Zulu]

The Rockets need Bradley Beal.

PG - Van Fleet - Holiday
SG - Thompson - Beal -
C -- Sergun - Adams
PF - Durant - Smith
SF - F-Smith - Eason

Imagine Durants face when he thought he escaped from Beal, and sees him in practice facility.

[WiggOuts]

Excellent points. Obviously, Thompson slides to starting two-guard now, but who else gets minutes there? Shepherd? Eason? Finney-Smith?

Is a VanFleet/Shepherd backcourt big enough?

The Rockets are switch heavy on defense so the SG, SF, PF positions are all interchangeable. Fred and Reed might get some burn together, we'll see. It mainly depends on the matchup. Fred and Holiday got minutes together last season so it's possible Ime is open to that.

So Eason and Finney-Smith will get minutes at SG. Got it.

I think the Rockets need more scoring, especially in the backcourt. By my estimation, they actually needed Whitmore's skill-set, so unless they have plans to sign a scoring SG, this trade was extremely short-sighted.

To me, Whitmore had a legitimate chance to become their third(or fourth) leading scorer.

Thats what I'm saying, someone else said they looked for the best opportunity to benefit Cam, but the best opportunity to benefit Cam was staying in HOU, the table was set for him. This is why it seems odd to me, almost as if there was more reasons to letting him go. He is arguable in a worse situation now with the glut of wing players on WAS. I guess we see what happens

[MrTribbiani]

Whitmore is a bucket. Steal for the Wizards.

He might be a 20+ppg guy this season

Don't see it. He's not that great and Washington has a bunch of guys they actually drafted themselves that they will prioritize development with. Whitmore will still be a part time player.

Wizards don't have anyone outside of McCollum that can score like Whitmore. He's gonna push his way into the 1st or 2nd option pretty quickly. He can score in his sleep.

His defense is bad and he can't pass the ball.

The Rockets moved on from him for a reason.

[BigGargamel]

Whitmore is a bucket. Steal for the Wizards.

He might be a 20+ppg guy this season

Don't see it. He's not that great and Washington has a bunch of guys they actually drafted themselves that they will prioritize development with. Whitmore will still be a part time player.

Wizards don't have anyone outside of McCollum that can score like Whitmore. He's gonna push his way into the 1st or 2nd option pretty quickly. He can score in his sleep.

I guess if they want to keep tanking, sure. But I'd prioritize developing Sarr, Carrington, Coulibaly, George, Johnson and Riley before I even got to Whitmore. Those are the guys I drafted. Almost everyone in the NBA can score. What meaningful skill does he bring to the table that is worth prioritizing over those other guys I mentioned?

I mean, he has talent and they didn't give up much to get him so sure, why not? But a volume scorer really isn't all that important in the NBA these days. That's why the Rockets gave him away in the first place. Does anyone even know or care that Cam Johnson scored 24 ppg at 23 years old last year? No one even cares that guy exists.

[Pointgod]

The Rockets need Bradley Beal.

PG - Van Fleet - Holiday
SG - Thompson - Beal -
C -- Sergun - Adams
PF - Durant - Smith
SF - F-Smith - Eason

Rockets definitely don’t need Bradley Beal.

[nate33]

But I'd prioritize developing Sarr, Carrington, Coulibaly, George, Johnson and Riley before I even got to Whitmore. Those are the guys I drafted.

Riley is really skinny and just not NBA-ready yet. I think his development is going to take place in the G-League and in practice. Sarr looks like he will be playing exclusively at center since he is the only center on the roster other than Olynyk; so, Sarr won't impact Whitmore's minutes. Carrington and Tre Johnson will play at the 2 and the 1, so shouldn't impact Cam's minutes.

Cam will be competing for minutes with Coulibaly, George, Champagnie and Middleton at the SF and PF positions. There's room for 4 of them, but not all 5. My guess is that Champagnie will be the odd man out early on to give Cam a chance. But Champagnie is actually a pretty good player so if Cam stumbles, he may get displaced. Middleton will inevitably gets hurt or is traded, which will relieve the issue.

Kispert is also in the mix, but I'm pretty confident the Wizards will try and move him this summer.

[Harry Palmer]

To be clear, my issue with the offence minus Green and Whitmore is that they were the team’s only shoot/drive threats, regardless of how efficient people think they were. They are suddenly a team that doesn’t have anyone who threatens the rim from the perim, and that will make some aspects of defending them easier, and will probably require more movement. I was kinda ok with Green’s departure specifically because we had Cam to maintain that element, and now we don’t. I just don’t get this.