The 2025 NBA offseason is going full steam ahead. The 2025 NBA Draft is in the rearview mirror and free agency is in full swing. New reporting on the Cam Whitmore trade reveals why the Rockets traded him to the Wizards over other landing spots.

Houston traded forward Cam Whitmore to Washington in exchange for two second-round picks, per ESPN's Shams Charania.

The Rockets reportedly worked with Whitmore and his reps at WME Basketball over multiple weeks to find his new home. Houston's front office had multiple offers on the table for Whitmore. But Whitmore wanted to land somewhere that gave him “a legitimate chance to thrive in his career,” Charania reported.

This trade came on the heels of the Rockets acquiring star Kevin Durant from the Suns.

The Rockets drafted Whitmore with the 23rd overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft. Whitmore will now now pursue a future with the Wizards. He grew up in Maryland, which makes the move to Washington almost a return home.

He will turn 21 years old later this year and is just beginning his professional career. Whitmore did not get many opportunities to prove himself with the Rockets. In fact, he only averaged 16.2 minutes per game in the 2024-25 season.

But many NBA scouts are still impressed with Whitmore's skills and believe he could thrive in Washington.

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Whitmore has made the most of his limited minutes early in this career. He averaged 10.8 points and 3.4 rebounds per game over his first few seasons in the NBA. Whitmore also has a career field goal percentage of 44.9%, which is quite efficient for a big. This bodes well for Whitmore's ability to earn himself a role with the Wizards during the 2025-26 season.

Now that Whitmore has joined the team, he will have plenty of opportunity to show his worth.

Whitmore will join a host of new players on the Wizards next season. Washington acquired CJ McCollum and Kelly Olynyk in exchange for Jordan Poole and Saddiq Bey earlier this offseason. They also added Tre Johnson with the sixth overall pick of the 2025 NBA Draft.

Washington's current starting lineup should include Bub Carrington, CJ McCollum, Bilal Coulibaly, and Alex Sarr. Obviously this could change before the start of the season.

Either way, Whitmore should have plenty of opportunities to prove himself during the 2025-26 NBA season.