An intriguing player has hit the free agency market deep into August, with former first-round pick Cam Whitmore becoming available as the Golden State Warriors look to finalize their training camp roster.
Whitmore has been waived by the Cleveland Cavaliers following his inclusion in the Peyton Watson sign-and-trade, but it's hard to see the Warriors giving the young forward a lifeline given the obvious parallels between he and Jonathan Kuminga.
Warriors can repeat Jonathan Kuminga mistake with Cam Whitmore gamble
A young, highly talented forward who produces numbers when given opportunity, yet one who can be mistake-prone and hasn't consistently shown an ability to consistently contribute to winning. Sound familiar? This has been the reputation around Kuminga across his career, and one that can also apply to Whitmore after three years with the Houston Rockets and Washington Wizards.
The comparison actually does a disservice to Kuminga who's achieved a lot more at the NBA level, and who just signed a free agency deal with the Minnesota Timberwolves with the promise of becoming their starting power forward to open the season.
Whitmore, meanwhile, is now just looking for another opportunity after 119 career games to date. The comparisons with Kuminga are still obviously though, and will likely lead Golden State to turning away from Whitmore despite a fake report that's done the rounds on social media over the weekend.
Fake news but would be objectively funny to take this on after the Kuminga experience https://t.co/gRR02fwz5G
— Peter O’Keefe (@POK252) August 30, 2026
It's just hard to envisage Whitmore thriving within a Steve Kerr system for much of the same reasons Kuminga struggled to do so. The 22-year-old is a scorer first and foremost, yet not an overly efficient one while also averaging more turnovers than assists through his three-year career. Whitmore has yet to record a positive plus-minus in any of his three seasons, including being a -7.2 in his 21 games with the lowly Wizards last season.
Cam Whitmore would have to tempt Warriors and other NBA teams
As much as Whitmore may not make sense for Golden State, there would have to be a level of temptation and it's hard to see the former 20th overall pick being completely out of the league entering the season.
Whitmore averages 10.5 points and 3.3 rebounds in less than 18 minutes across his career, and while his 45% shooting from the floor and 34.9% from 3-point range aren't great, they're equally not terrible either. Whitmore can put the ball in the bucket, and that's something the Warriors need after ranking 19th in offense last season.
The most tempting factor is that Whitmore is still eligible for a two-way contract. Golden State still have an eligible two-way spot, and having him on there rather than the main roster significantly reduces the risk on a player that three teams have now given up on in the last 14 months.
For that reason it's not unthinkable for the Warriors to explore a move, but it should still be deemed incredibly unlikely after moving on from the Kuminga experience less than seven months ago.
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