If you are underwhelmed by what the Phoenix Suns received in the Kevin Durant trade, well, you’re not even close to alone. And guess what? That feeling is about to get worse, because it turns out the Suns punted on the chance to land Cam Whitmore in the deal.
League sources told Michael Scotto of HoopsHype that “Whitmore was nearly traded to” Phoenix in the KD blockbuster, but the Suns ultimately “opted for more future second-round draft pick” compensation. This is…certainly a choice. And it’s not a good one.
Five second-rounders were reportedly included in the original Durant deal, which will now apparently be expanded to include a record seven teams. That is a lot of picks. And we have no way of knowing, for now, how many additional seconds the Suns received for passing on Whitmore. But that doesn’t matter. Unless the Houston Rockets wanted to include him instead of No. 10 pick Khaman Maluach, the 20-year-old Whitmore would make far more sense than mystery-box seconds for a Phoenix team attempting to plan around the future while remaining competitive in the present.
Cam Whitmore could have been the Suns’ hidden gem
After backsliding down the 2023 NBA draft board, Whitmore has played an inconsistent role for Houston, and delivered lukewarm overall results. But he’s flashed plenty of scoring versatility, both on and away from the ball, along with the explosion to detonate against set defenses.
At 6’7”, he also has the size to be moved up and down the positional spectrum. His defensive energy is inconstant, but you can game his matchups to use him across the 2, 3, or even 4 slots. His median-range outcome profiles as that of a big shooter with some downhill chops who doesn’t torpedo your defensive infrastructure.
Rumor has it those player archetypes are pretty valuable. And they should be especially valuable to Phoenix. This roster does not have any player with as much size and offensive upside as Whitmore.
Passing on the chance to further develop Whitmore is mind-boggling stuff by Phoenix. It would be one thing if he were about to get paid. He’s not. He has two years left on his ultra-cheap rookie-scale deal, which would fit the Suns’ overall salary structure as they navigate #ThatApronLife.
Prioritizing second-rounders over Whitmore feels like Phoenix wants more mini sweeteners for future salary dumps. Which, um, meh.
The Suns' logic in the Kevin Durant trade makes little sense
Maybe the Suns thought there wouldn’t be enough touches to go around with Whitmore, Devin Booker, Bradley Beal, and Jalen Green. That would be pretty lame. Almost 60 percent of Whitmore’s buckets came off assists last year, so he’s not incapable of playing off others..
Phoenix also had to know there was a chance it would go the buyout route with Beal that it’s reportedly traveling down now. Touches are going to open up. The Suns’ position would be more understandable if they simply don’t believe Whitmore has a path toward improving his efficiency, or the tunnel vision from which he suffers when he is on the ball.
Even that rings kind of hollow. It is tantamount to writing off a borderline teenager with just two years of NBA experience. The Suns need these types of prospects on their roster—those potentially risky, but high-reward gambits who can evolve into cornerstones, if not reliable rotation players, for the franchise’s next actually good team.
There’s no guarantee Whitmore is one of those players. But he’s tantalizing enough to find out. Phoenix opted against it, and failing those seconds being used to do something or on someone special, it may come back to bite them.