New Wizards Forward Opens Up About Washington Return

Cam Whitmore has been waiting to be a Washington Wizard.

It was no coincidence that the Odenton, MD native ended up on his favorite childhood team; the Houston Rockets, having drafted the highly-touted prospect to a once-rebuilding situation, no longer needed the scoring phenom and gave him a say in his next destination. They could have gotten more than a pair of second-round picks out of the former-first-rounder, but opted to do right by their odd man out.

He'll transition from being buried on a contending Houston team to the development-oriented Wizards, who much more closely resemble his timeline. Whitmore was quick to embrace his change of scenery, sending a message to Washington fans following the move.

As it turns out, he isn't only excited to take the next step of his career. Whitmore grew up idolizing the Wizards' stars, crediting familiar faces like John Wall and Bradley Beal as his entry point into Wizards fandom.

"I remember the playoff games when Paul Pierce hit that big shot; that was when “The Truth” [Paul Pierce] came out and so, it was a lot of memories throughout the Wizards organization and now I’m here a couple years later so it’s kinda a surreal moment," he told Brandon "Scoop B" Robinson in a Q&A.

He'll be one of the more experienced contributors on Washington's upcoming roster, but that says a lot more about their youth movement than it does about Whitmore. The wing is entering his third season in the association after limited usage across his first and second campaigns, having spent more time in the NBA than everyone in the Wizards' vast young core aside from 2023 NBA Draft classmate Bilal Coulibaly.

Whitmore was quick to embrace the similarities he shares with his new teammates, where he hopes to crack the rotation as one of the deadlier downhill scorers of the bunch. "We’re all around the same age and pretty young and plus me and Bub grew up playing against each other, so yeah, it’s just a couple of young guns ready to work and we’re very hungry to win basketball games," he said.

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