Cam Whitmore traded to Wizards for 2 2nd round picks

Cam's only real comp imo is

Tre Johnson - Just as good or better scorer than Cam, IQ better, Defense better
Khris Middleton - Vet NBA champ
Bilal Coulibaly - Better defender better IQ

If he can't beat out those other guys something wrong and the Rockets were right about him.

 

I see your point and was similarly disappointed on the return for Cam - I too felt his talent deserved a much larger return. That being said talent alone doesn't ultimately set player value. Contract value, contract renewal, team/player options, and context of need all play a role as well AND its worth noting determining talent can be somewhat subjective as well. Let me explain.

If I am a GM on some other rando team here is what my thought process might be if I'm evaluating whether to make an offer to the Rockets for Whitmore:
- maybe I want a playmaker on my team and so I look at Cam and say "he's just a ball dominant scorer and I am in Sacramento where we have too many of those already" so I decide not to make an offer.
- maybe I think Cam IS worth a future first but I'm handicapped in offering any because I have already traded mine away (Bucks, Suns, Nuggets, etc)
- maybe I look at it like Cam will be wanting an extension next year and I have limited budget to offer so I don't want to trade valuable assets for a player who we may not be able to afford if they perform well with more minutes - I could be a lot of teams now trying to cut payroll in the new CBA
- maybe I'm a team who is looking to add a player with a high floor rather than a high ceiling and so a guy like Tate is more valuable to me because at least I can sub him for my playoff team in a pinch and trust he will at least be a neutral player(albeit with a significantly lower ceiling potential than Cam)
- OR maybe I love everything about Cam and am willing to give up significant assets BUT in discussions around the league I sense that many teams have ruled out Cam from the logic above so I intentionally low ball and compete against the actual market rather than paying what I think is fair - I'm trying to get a deal here!

I think those are all reasonable ways for a GM to evaluate when deciding whether to make an offer to Houston for Cam and what that offer should be and they don't necessarily focus on the talent/potential ceiling. I dont doubt Stone kicked the tires on a Cam trade many times over the last year but I sense two second round picks NOW was more valuable to Stone given he suddenly is in win now mode and is realizing he likely won't have another opportunity soon to find playmaking/scoring talent in the draft that will be good enough to help us win now so he is resigned to collecting assets to trade for that star once they become available and even though it seems underwhelming from a talent standpoint, it DOES add to a draft pick chest crucial to either make BIG trades or to help us find cost effective players on the cheap if we keep much of the rest of the our young guys(Alpi, Amen, Tari, Bari, Reed, etc).

I think the bottom line is - the goals of this organization shifted fairly dramatically in the last year and a half or so - Cam is unfortunately not as valuable to a team trying to win now with an aging scorer. I agree I would have liked to have given Cam more run(particularly last year) but I do think this Houston team has a higher ceiling to win a title today with KD and a slew of draft picks to throw into trades than with Cam on the roster and that's ultimately the point even though I really liked Cam. I'm a Rockets fan ultimately before I'm any one player's fan(aside from the Legendary Hakeem)

I told you guys before - my brother in law drives celebrities around and has taken Cam around Austin/San Antonio several times and said he was a good dude - very respectful(and believe me, they are NOT all good dudes). I'm still rooting for the kid in Washington - but this is ALSO what is in Cam's best interest because he now has an opportunity to play more minutes to either grow or fail by his own play and that seems fair.

 

Of course. Like I said, it's never about age. It's about whether YOU THINK the guy has talent or not. Everything else is just you trying to defend what you think.

 

I hear you but Corey Kispert is a veteran shooter (who may get traded) , Kyshawn George is talented, Will Riley has some game too. Jamir Watkins is an athletic wing. I love Cam's game too but there's still a bunch of wings with the Wizards right now and it's going to be very interesting how it shakes out.

 

Yes, that is very obviously true.

LOL

DD