Cam Whitmore traded to Wizards for 2 2nd round picks

Ok, what did we learn, it is not good to post after drinking martinis at a speakeasy all night….got it.

Good luck to Cam, and Go Rockets…..I will try not to be so insufferable when Cam blows up…..lol

DD

 

We don’t have a first round pick next year so holding off until we could trade Cam for that would have made more sense. You can always get mid seconds for basically cash, so this was like waiving Cam which wasn’t necessary at 20 years old and with our announcers joking he’s a point per minute player and he even scored 34 in a game started last year. Makes no sense and truly hurts the future of the franchise as he’s not some 13th player you dump for free. Just think we kept freaking Jeenethan Williams over him and with only unproven Reed and career reserve Holiday, our depth at guard is paper thin. I think to a person we were all fine losing Jalen Green’s electric (at times) scoring because we all knew we had the secret weapon of Slam Whitmore waiting in the wings….excuse me if I’m upset that it’s now turned into Holiday and Jeenethan.

 

Rehashing the Durant trade, it is clear that the Rockets have replaced Green’s role of perimeter creator with KD and then replaced Dillon Brooks with DFS. They also have leaked how high they are on Reed Sheppard. Cam didnt have a path to consistent minutes and then replaced Rockets did him a solid.

 

Well he did if they didn't sign DFS, and he was cheaper - but it was clear to him and his camp that the Rockets didn't believe in him, so, he opted to go somewhere else.

Can't blame him, and yes, I am worried that Ime is unable to handle strong willed young players like him.....but the Rox have enough talent assuming KD doesn't break in half to be a contender for the next 2-3 years, if it doesn't work out, it will look like a panic move or impatient looking back if Green and Cam or either of them break into all star players.

That is the nature of management and risk.

DD

 

Not saying we should have kept Cam long term, but could have showcased him as Amen’s backup at beginning of season and shipped him for a better haul by the trade deadline. We all know that with time he’d average at least 12 ppg as he did his rookie year (on limited time). This was a rash must get rid of him now move for zero return. A smart team would have played it differently and maximized the return. His attitude would have been fine with playing time and then trade him for something of value. Instead we got zippo on a very talented extremely young prospect.

 

I meant that they had to get rid of him because it was pretty obvious that he and Udoka weren't going to see eye to eye. I agree, I personally would have kept him too, but it was very clear that the organization didn't see it that way, so he had to go. It was unavoidable.

 

Cam may be the one player with enough potential left to prove the organization wrong.

But...

So far, in Stone's tenure, people have often complained about the rockets trading away good players for not much return. But, if you look back most of those players haven't amounted to much.

 

Cam has been on his way out for a very long time.

It's disappointing when young talent doesn't mesh with team culture/coaching.

But, it sounds like the relationship was fractured beyond repair.

 

Cam is not a Rocket anymore. I root for the Rockets, best of luck to Cam. Wrong place, wrong time. I do understand him and his agent though. That fall from top 10 to 20th is a big deal in terms of rookie contracts. All of us have had a job where we thought we deserved more. He's playing for his next contract. I don't know but 3 million compared to 10 million is a big difference. Alot of these guys are trying to make it, so they can help family situations and also set themselves up financially for the future. No playing time equals out of the league or overseas. Especially on a 2 year window. He wanted the best situation for himself and that's what he bet on. I wish him the best he didn't want to be micromanaged and that's ok. The Rockets will be great and hopefully Cam can fulfill his vision.

 

You’re saying that teams who already knew he averaged 12 ppg in his rookie year needed to see him to do it again for a few months in his 3rd year to be impressed. You’re making no sense at all.

We sent the kid to a team near his home for 2 second rounders instead of, what, a late first rounder? That’s something to whine about?

 

Exactly this.

 

I am personally fine with it up until the trade deadline. Reed was very good toward the end of last season, and he was our #3 pick (albeit in a weak draft). We need to see what we have with him. If he has a rough first half of the season again he'll probably have to try to develop elsewhere, and I'm okay with that.

 

Cam got that it factor.
Was one of my faves of the young core.
He plays angry & with a point to prove Very exciting & explosive player.
I didn't think his defense was that awful he is just a pure scorer something we desperately needed.

I hate to see him go.

Wish him well with Wizards.

 

Good riddance. We are trying to build a championship team here and we do not have room for man babies.

The issue with this guy was that he genuinely believed he was better than the players who were playing in front of him. He could not have been more wrong.

Yeah, he can maybe fill up the stat sheet, and he is bound to do that on a sorry team, just like Bradley Beal on the Wizards, Monta Ellis, Corey Maggette, Ricky Davis, and Kevin Martin. Do I need to name more? All of those players were great at putting up numbers for themselves, but they did not make anyone around them better. And most of them were not pouting and sulking as grown men on a team with real championship goals, the way Cam was.

I am glad he is gone. But let us be honest, this kid is not going to become some superstar who leads a team to anything meaningful. He will end up just like the guys I mentioned above. There was no space for him here. We will not miss a beat. Good luck to Cam in Washington. I'm glad the Rockets helped him find a destination that will suite his will to get on the floor.

The Rockets are way better than they were when the season ended, and we are just getting started.

 

The objective of a basketball game is to outscore the other team, Cam was very good at that objective at only 20 years old, letting guys who are trending towards elite level scoring go for garbage picks, is not good asset management.

And it makes me question how good Ime is as a coach if he can't work with talented headstrong men - great coaches find a way to get the most out of all kids of personality types.

Examples of headstrong talented players, Kobe, Iverson, Bird, Magic, - but if you are not looking at star players - Rasheed Wallace, Vernon Maxwell, Draymond Green, Ron Artest - they generally have great careers.

I wanted Amen and Cam to be playing together, playing fast and busting up teams, with Reed the baby sniper filling it up off their energy.

I believe that would have been a better team than what we have now, and we actually got weaker - today and in the future, to chase a ring with a 37 year old icon in KD - now if that works out - awesome - but it better work out.

DD

 

Cam seems more like Isaiah Rider to me. And there are countless talented headstrong guys who went nowhere.

For his sake, I hope Cam figures it out. But when you slide from top 5 to #20 on draft day, then can’t get meaningful time on a young team hungry for stars, I think that says a lot more about you than it does about your coach.

 

No one was expecting williams to go 3rd but I can certainly see having taken Mobley.

 

If you can't see that IME's ego got in the way here, you aren't paying attention.

Ime is about Ime........He wants it to be about him, I prefer coaches like Rudy and Phil Jackson who make it about the players - they coach, rather than about themselves......

Ime and Cam clashed because they are both strong willed people - eventually as one of our players breaks out, I predict Amen - Ime will need to move aside or be fired......that is the nature of the beast.

You have to let the players lead, or you fall short every time.

DD

 

My intramural bball team at UT was called the taxi drivers. We weren’t good at scoring, we drank too much before, during, and after the game. I’ll tell you tho, nobody liked playing us. We hacked and mauled and wanted to get after it. If only ime coulda coached us lol. ( oh, we were really high too

 

Blow up in what sense? His PPG will most definitely have a big bump due to increased playing time and shot opportunities. But scoring was never the issue with Cam.

His issues are: is he still gonna have tunnel vision and be a black hole, will he have improved efficiency, is he gonna play good defense or at least try harder, and most importantly is he gonna pout when things don’t go his way?

If the answers are yes, good luck Wizards.