Rockets' regret in drafting Cam Whitmore grows as passed up star continues breakout

As the Houston Rockets have worked to assemble their dynamic young core over the past several seasons, they have drafted exceedingly well, having selected a number of future stars that will, hopefully, keep them in championship contention for years to come.

Yet one notable failure, their decision to select Cam Whitmore with the 20th overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, grows more and more notable by the day as a player picked far below him, Toumani Camara of the Portland Trail Blazers, continues to develop into one of the league's two-way stars.

Whitmore, without a doubt, is a talented player, and, if he is able to polish his game and his mindset, he should find great success with the increased touches he will receive on the Washington Wizards. Yet, it is almost too tempting to not think about the fit that Camara might have had on this Rockets team.

Toumani Camara would have been the perfect contributor to the Rockets' hard-nosed identity

When Houston decided to ship Whitmore to Washington for the relatively meager price of two second-round picks, many around the league thought that they should have somehow retrieved more value for a the former first-round pick. Yet, the truth was that the Rockets, insofar as they had no real space for Whitmore to carve out a role in their rotation, had no leverage in negotiations.

Unfortunately, he needed to go, and his move to the Wizards was the best thing both for him and for the team.

For the most part, the players drafted under Whitmore in that class have been sub-par. Those who have carved out roles as rotational players in the NBA have had relatively limited impacts (among the list are Noah Clowney, Dariq Whitehead, Ben Sheppard and Trayce Jackson-Davis).

Yet, Camara was drafted 52nd overall by the Phoenix Suns in that same draft, and, not even three seasons into his NBA career, he appears to be breaking out as a bona-fide two-way star.

After getting down-ballot consideration for Defensive Player of the Year and earning the nod to the Second Team All-Defense last season, he is now averaging 12.7 points, 5.4 rebounds and 2.7 assists while maintaining his stellar defensive approach.

While his 3-point percentage has taken a bit of a dip this year (down to 34% from 37.5% last season), his volume from beyond the arc has skyrocketed, and, once he finds his footing with his jumper, Camara will be well on his way to becoming the ultimate 3-and-D threat (from the power forward position, no less).

Granted, having Camara instead of Whitmore would not have eased the Rockets' uncomfortable surplus of players in the frontcourt, especially given Camara's skill-set overlap with current sixth man Tari Eason.

At the same time, it's hard not to imagine a lineup that features both Camara and Amen Thompson (along with perhaps even Jabari Smith Jr.) as one of the best defensive fronts in the NBA. Hopefully, the Whitmore selection will prove to be a minor footnote in the Rockets' ascension into championship contention.

However, passing on a player of Camara's caliber is the type of mistake tha will haunt Houston, and (for that matter) the rest of the NBA, for years to come.