Ideal and reality, the White Devil escapes. The Rockets situation is not as good as before, and Dancing Stars may be about to sink.

In this year's offseason, the Rockets have greatly upgraded their lineup. Only the first-round picks selected in the past four years have been sent away, Jaylen Green and Whittemore. However, the reasons for trading these two people are very different. Sending away Jaylen Green is largely to match Durant's trade and upgrade the team's firepower. As for sending Whitmore away, it was more of his initiative, as he no longer wanted to stay in the Rockets.

After two seasons with the Rockets, Whitmore's potential is visible to the naked eye. Even in the NBA where there are many strong players, Whitmore's physical fitness is at the top, and at the age of 19, he has the ability to fight as well as professional players. For a rookie who has just entered the league, his talent is really eye-catching.

At the same time, in his first season, Whitmore averaged 12.3 points and 3.8 rebounds per game. At the time, many people believed that Whitmore could become an impactful All-Star swingman like Jaylen Brown. However, in the second season, Whitmore's lazy attitude and relatively sluggish touch caused him to gradually fall out of the Rockets' rotation.

However, in Whitmore's view, all of this is because the Rockets did not give him enough playing time and he did not have enough scenes on the court. So during the offseason, Whitmore proposed the idea of ​​leaving to the management. Rockets general manager Stone did not make it difficult for the young player. After some operations, he sent the White Devil to his hometown team, the Washington Wizards.

After returning to the Wizards, Whitmore's mood has improved significantly. He has been interviewed by reporters many times and said that he will perform well in front of his hometown elders and prove himself. But now it seems that Whitmore's situation with the Wizards is probably worse than when he was with the Rockets.

The Wizards and Rockets chose to rebuild at about the same time. However, in the past few years, the Wizards' reconstruction work has not seen any signs of it. The team's second overall pick in 2024, Sal, currently does not even have the strength to serve as a starter for a playoff team. There is also Trey Johnson, who was won with the No. 4 pick this year. Judging from his performance in the playoffs and summer league, there is still a lot that needs to be polished on both the offensive and defensive ends.

Coupled with the fact that Carrington and George need to be developed in the first round, the Wizards did not give Whitmore much playing time. In the first game of the preseason, he got 16.7 minutes of playing time and scored 10 points. After playing 10 minutes in the second game and scoring 7 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists, he exited the game early due to an ankle sprain.

However, Whitmore's playing style on the court is completely different from that of the Rockets. In the Rockets, he only needs to work hard to meet Uduka's requirements on the defensive end. As long as there is an opening on the offensive end, whether it is Van Fleet, Shen Jing, Amen and others, the ball will be handed over to him in a relatively timely manner, giving him an easy scoring opportunity.

In the Wizards, all the newcomers want to express themselves. The team basically has no tactics at all, and they are all fighting on their own. Even Carrington, who grew up with Whitmore since childhood, said in an interview with the media that he and the White Devils have a good understanding of each other and that they will have a good chemical reaction. But on the court, the ball seemed to be embedded in Carrington, and there was not a single assist for Whitmore in the game.

If he really stays with the Wizards for a few years in this state, the amount of Whitmore's next contract will be greatly affected. For example, those players in the league who have no scoring ability, such as Trae Young, Clarkson, and Lou Williams, will not get very large contracts. On the other hand, these players from championship teams, even if they are slightly weaker on the offensive end, can often receive relatively generous salaries.

So, when Whittemore leaves the Rockets this time, he seems to have a freer offensive environment, but even if he is given enough shooting rights, he is likely to end up like Jaylen Green, a player with relatively good statistics. In this way, the White Devil's career is likely not to last too long! Do you think Whitmore was right to leave the Rockets? Welcome to leave a message for discussion!