Yeah...lol... But what I always found kind of odd was that people would complain about Reed, a pg, not shooting enough and Cam a SG/SF not passing enough... Like folks wanted the guy who is responsible for setting up the offense and one of the better passers on the team to jack it up every time he gets a crease of daylight and the guy who is instant offense off the bench to come in and pass the ball around... Not saying that they didn't each need to lean in more to other parts of their game...but dang....some playing time could/would have helped them enhance those areas where they were lacking...
Exactly - they did not get enough time to - 1. Gain confidence - which is more relevant to Reed, a young rookie that needs more minutes so he can adjust and make shots. The short playing time made him play too safe and thinking too much about passing the ball. As long as he doesn’t take enough shots and doesn’t score, he won’t be a threat, and the players guarding him will give him space knowing he won’t shoot, and he’s not able to pass through them and get to the paint for a layup or a pass outside. 2. Get used to the other team mates - more relevant to Cam. If he doesn’t play enough time, he won’t develop chemistry with other players, which is crucial for a guy like him with a tunnel vision. He may never be a great passer or anything, but as long as he and the other players around him are getting used to one another, he’ll probably will be able to read plays and pass the ball more often.
Looking at the roster as it stands now, the only guards on the roster are FVV, Shepard, Holiday & Jeenathan Williams? With Amen & Cam who can also play at one or both guard spots. The only true 2 guards on the roster last season was Jaen and Jeenathan Williams. It's possible (probable) that Jeenathan gets cut as his contract isn't guaranteed, (especially if Cam isn't traded), and they can stay below the 1A by leaving an open roster spot until the allstar break (actually a bit later). Bringing in Capela instead of a guard tells me that they have confidence in the guys already on the roster - particularly Amen & Reed. They still could trade Cam but I don't believe there's any universe where they get a "better player" for the same or less money.
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6464467/2025/07/01/houston-rockets-free-agency-experience-youth/ Houston isn’t finished doing business, either. The franchise will continue to work on finding third-year, 20-year-old wing Cam Whitmore a new home via trade and look to find a solution for reserve center Jock Landale, either by trade or simply waiving him ahead of his July 7 guarantee date. Reducing Houston’s payroll — by removing Landale’s $8 million non-guaranteed salary — will get it under the apron and afford it more wiggle room. Whitmore’s salary ($3.5 million for 2025-26) isn’t the deciding factor in the Rockets’ flexibility, but it’s apparent his days in Houston were numbered, long before it made any of these offseason moves.
You make good points. Reed and Cam could have seen the court more. Maybe the former would have gained confidence. Maybe the latter would have averaged more than 0.125 assists per game (the spirit of Yinka Dare must be smiling down on Cam).
Yep. There is a lot of smoke concerning the Rockets viewing Reed positively: - Trading Green, - not adding a guard other than retaining Holiday, - adding DFS (a defensive SF to ensure no weak defenders 2-4 when Reed is in), - multiple media personalities state Rockets still view Reed's offense highly, - FVV got a player option for the second year (possible FVV doesn't want to be a backup). - Team looking at options to trade Cam (there will be no money for Cam in Houston if the Rockets need to save it for Reed). Not saying any of these are definitive by themselves, but I'd guess the Rockets expect Reed to be in the rotation next season.
Can't speak for others, but to me, the issue with Cam is that he will try to attempt shots when it's not there. Rather than pass it back out to the PG to reset. He doesn't really need to be a playmaker. But simple decision-making on whether to go for it or not. Jalen has similar issues where once he decides he's going to shoot, no amount of defensive attention was going to deter him. Cam doesn't need to make play for others, but he does need to learn when NOT to shoot or drive into 3 defenders. As for Reed, his issue is that he will pass up shots that aren't clean looks, but clean enough by NBA standards that you have to take that shot. And when he did start shooting those, he wasn't very effective. I don't know what the issue is. Does he need to be more in rhythm like those few starts? Or does he just need more experience to get off his shot. Regardless he absolutely needs to make more shots. Cause he's not athletic enough to be getting by defenders without it like Amen can.
Rockets wing depth: 1) KD 2a) Tari 2b) DFS 3) Jabari Where exactly is Cam going to carve out minutes here? There are so many players ahead of him on the depth chart and others that take priority in the one area he likes (scoring). Amen, Reed, Sengun, KD and Jabari are all taking more shots than him. Maybe as Tari Eason insurance?
We are not deep at guard. If Cam stays on the roster, he needs to become a decent team player on offense and defense as a guard.
Right now Reed is a PG on defense and a SG on offense. When he proves he can get to the hoop and either finish or create assists you can call him a pg if you like.
