Rockets' missed opportunity named one of the worst trades of the summer

The Houston Rockets haven't made a lot of roster missteps during the Rafael Stone tenure. The Cam Whitmore trade is an exception. Bleacher Report just named it the fifth-most lopsided trade of the NBA's offseason. 

They aren't wrong. 

Perhaps I'm biased. The piece was written by the very same Dan Favale, who's made some wonderful contributions to SpaceCityScoop. That said, Favale's logic here is pretty unimpeachable: 

The Rockets blew it on the Whitmore deal. 

Rockets made a misstep in accepting pitiful Whitmore return 

"The Rockets had no clear path to offer Whitmore playing time following the additions of Kevin Durant and Dorian Finney-Smith...But punting on Whitmore's scoring upside when he has two years left on his rookie-scale contract without receiving first-round compensation cannot be declared a win"

 - Dan Favale 

Exactly. 

Whitmore's shortcomings are no secret. His career assists per 75 possessions might as well be tattooed on my arm (1.725, to be exact). Much ink has been spilled on these pages regarding Whitmore's flaws. 

Still, another per 75 possession stands out: 22.5. That's how many points Whitmore has scored per 75 possessions over his first two NBA seasons. That type of scoring points to high upside, no matter how flawed the overall package it comes in. 

The Rockets were never going to find an opportunity for Whitmore in 2025-26. That doesn't mean they had to send him to the first suitor. They could have held him until the deadline and moved him for this same package if they didn't find something better. 

Who knows? Injury timing could have been serendipitous. Say Finney-Smith had to miss a few weeks. If Whitmore replaced him in the rotation and put up big numbers, he could bolster his trade value. 

Now, that won't happen. If Whitmore puts up any big numbers, it'll be in the nation's capital. 

Should the Rockets regret letting him go? 

Rockets won't regret losing Whitmore 

If this hasn't become clear, I concur with the notion that Whitmore wasn't meant for this team. He won't be missed in this corner. This isn't about Whitmore: 

It's about the return. 

A player who's shown this potential should not be traded for two second-round picks. When the Rockets nabbed Whitmore with the 20th pick in the 2023 draft, it was seen as a steal. 

In the end, they'd quickly flip him for less value than that pick holds. 

That's a loss no matter how you slice it. As such, it's correct to identify this trade as one of the offseason's worst. The Rockets may not miss Whitmore, but they may wish they'd received first-round compensation for him. 

After all, Rafael Stone has a strong track record when it comes to first-round picks.