When the Suns traded Kevin Durant to the Rockets, that was originally a two-team deal. In the time that has passed, the deal has ballooned into a record seven-team trade.
Teams have until Sunday for deals that were previously negotiated to become official. That allows teams to jump into the deal. The Lakers are now one of the seven teams in the deal, and they might not be done. NBA insiders have linked Houston’s Cam Whitmore as a potential sign-and-trade candidate for Los Angeles. Whitmore has played two seasons for the Rockets but has been used sparingly by Ime Udoka.
Will the Lakers sign-and-trade for Cam Whitmore this offseason?
According to NBA insiders, Rockets’ Cam Whitmore is searching for a larger role. Houston has made several moves to improve the roster this offseason. Making it that much tougher for Whitmore to see real playing time in 2025-26. Over the first two seasons of his career with Houston, Whitmore averaged 17.4 minutes per game. Last year, he played in 51 of their 82 regular-season games and made three starts.
During the playoffs, Whitmore played in three of the Rockets’ seven games and averaged 1.7 minutes per contest. Recently, the Lakers have been linked to Houston’s Cam Whitmore as a potential sign-and-trade candidate. The soon-to-be 21-year-old could be on the move if Los Angeles is willing to make the deal happen.
Cam Whitmore is a low-risk, high-reward option for the Los Angeles Lakers. He’s still on his rookie contract and is owed $9 million over the next two seasons. That fits perfectly with the plan that GM Rob Pelinka has mentioned this offseason. Los Angeles wants to have a ton of cap space for the 2027 offseason. With that, they are prioritizing two-year deals.
In the 2023 NBA draft, the Lakers had a chance to draft Cam Whitmore with the 17th overall pick. Instead, the team drafted Jalen Hood-Schifino after concerns over Whitmore’s health. Hood-Schifino is no longer with the Lakers. Cam Whitmore is an explosive athlete with raw talent that still needs to be developed. He has the traits of a dominant two-way player in the league. Whitmore has yet to put it all together. A fresh start with the Lakers could be exactly what he needs to revamp his career.