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Rockets Trade Forward Days After Kevin Durant Move

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Kevin Binoy | Last updated Jul 5, 2025 6:45 PM ET

The Houston Rockets have definitely decided that this offseason is not the time to play it safe. First, they stunned everyone by pulling off a blockbuster move to bring Kevin Durant to town, a trade that instantly turned heads all around the league. But landing KD was just the beginning.

Now, with their sights firmly set on chasing a championship, the Rockets are making more moves to tweak the roster around their new superstar.

According to The Athetic's Kelly Iko, Houston has traded Cam Whitmore to the Washington Wizards for two second-round picks.

Cam Whitmore has been traded to Washington for two second-round picks, source confirmed to @TheAthletic. https://t.co/IWqCvJoize
— Kelly Iko (@KellyIko) July 5, 2025

Whitmore, who’s about to turn 21 on Tuesday, was snagged by the Rockets as the 20th pick in the 2023 draft out of Villanova. He was actually their second first-rounder that year, coming in right after Amen Thompson.

In his most recent season, Whitmore put up about 9.4 points and grabbed three boards a game, hitting 36% from deep on 183 attempts, a slight dip from his rookie year when he averaged 12.3 points and 3.8 rebounds with the same three-point clip.

Apart from Whitmore and Durant, the Rockets also locked in Dorian Finney-Smith and made sure to keep some key pieces around, handing out extensions to Steven Adams and former first-rounder Jabari Smith. Safe to say, Houston’s going all in to build a squad that can really contend.

Based on the NBA title odds, the Rockets are now among the prime contenders to win a championship. Houston is listed at +850 on ESPN Bet to win the 2025-26 title, behind only the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder (+250), Cleveland Cavaliers (+800) and New York Knicks (+800).

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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