NBA head coach says the quiet part out loud about former Rockets draft bust

The Houston Rockets traded Cam Whitmore to the Wizards for virtually nothing last summer. If recent comments by his head coach are any indication, there's a reason for that.

"We have certain standards that we have for our team. He has to live up to those"

- Brian Keefe, Wizards head coach

That's rough. It's also giving Rockets fans deja vu. Whitmore never seemed to fit in in Space City:

And it's been more of the same in the capital.

Rockets shouldn't miss Cam Whitmore

When Whitmore landed in Washington, it made sense. This was a team in the early stages of a rebuild. Whitmore would get opportunities, right?

Not so fast. Whitmore is averaging 16.9 minutes per game. That's a modest bump from the 16.2 he played for the Rockets last year. Whitmore's 18.7 minutes per game as a rookie remain a career high.

What gives?

Well, Whitmore's problems have followed him. His 28.6% three-point shooting is a career low. With a 52.8% True Shooting % (TS%), Whitmore remains inefficient.

He also remains entirely allergic to passing. Whitmore is averaging 1.5 assists per 75 possessions - in line with his Rockets numbers. This is his biggest issue. Whitmore plays like he's trying to lead the league in scoring instead of trying to win.

Will it ever change?

Former Rockets star has a lot to prove

If Whitmore wants to stick in the NBA, it had better.

It's a difficult case. Whitmore is clearly talented. He's been able to score at the NBA level from day one. The issue is always that he doesn't do anything else.

Whitmore doesn't pass. He doesn't defend. Coupled with his poor three-point shooting, he has too many deficiencies. If Whitmore wants to stick in the NBA, he needs to plug some holes.

Moreover, there have been questions about his attitude. It's not clear if Keefe is referring to on or off-court problems here, but they're almost equally concerning possibilities.

As far as Rockets fans are concerned? It's no longer a problem. Whitmore plays a bad brand of basketball, and Washington has to see if they can curb his bad habits. We may continue to wish we'd gotten more than two second-round picks for Whitmore, but the way his career is trending, that could look like a steal on the Rockets' part in hindsight.

Evidently, Keefe is struggling to use him as much as Ime Udoka did.