Cam Whitmore has had an eventful past month. The Washington Wizards traded him to the Cavaliers in mid-August as part of the multi-team Peyton Watson sign-and-trade, and two weeks later, Cleveland waived him. With training camps around the league slated to open in less than two weeks, the 22-year-old has his next opportunity — a two-way deal with the Nuggets.
Unfortunately, last season ended early for Whitmore, as in December, he was diagnosed with deep vein thrombosis, which ended his 2025-26 season. Even before then, though, it didn't look like he had much of a future with the Wizards, as Brian Keefe benched him at the start of the month, saying that the wing wasn't meeting "standards and expectations."
The Wizards didn't need validation that trading him was the right decision, but they got it anyway. He likely wasn't going to be part of Washington's nightly rotation, especially not after the team selected AJ Dybantsa with the No. 1 overall pick. Rather than wait around, the front office received Tre Mann, a 2027 second-round pick via the Clippers, and cash in return for Whitmore.
Now, he'll try to revive his career in Denver on a two-way contract.
Nuggets sign Cam Whitmore to two-way deal
This is Denver's way of taking a low-risk swing on a young player. The Nuggets are strapped financially, sitting above the second tax apron, and their offseason moves haven't reassured fans of their commitment to making another championship run with Nikola Jokić.
In other words, they don't have many options, so why not see what Whitmore has? He won't replace what they lost in Watson, but his athleticism and physicality make him a gamble worth taking, even though he hasn't established his skill set or carved out a role in the NBA. Again, the Nuggets can't afford to be picky.
With the young talent that the Wizards have, they could be. Whitmore only suited up for Washington for a couple of months, but that was all the front office needed to see. It was an experiment that the Nuggets can only hope will yield a better result in Denver, or, actually, in this case, Michigan, as that's where the team's G League affiliate is based.
Hopefully, for Whitmore's sake, he can use this opportunity to prove he's worthy of another standard NBA deal. It should be a wake-up call for him, as it's not ideal for a 2023 first-round pick to already be in this situation.
Washington may have seen something like this coming, though, and got ahead of it rather than keeping Whitmore at the end of the bench.
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