Sacramento Kings Named Landing Spot for Former First-Round Pick in Free Agency

Grant Hughes of Bleacher Report recently named the Kings as a top landing spot for Whitmore heading into the ’26-27 season. Hughes thinks that it might be in Sacramento’s best interest to kick the tires on Whitmore to see if he can still pan out to be a legitimate NBA contributor after being drafted by the Houston Rockets in the first round (20th overall) of the 2023 NBA Draft.

“Cam Whitmore may be on the way out of the league, but any team with a talent deficit and little to lose should be willing to give him one more shot. The Sacramento Kings fit that description pretty well, and they should have interest in seeing if there’s something valuable still hiding inside the athletic wing who was recently waived by the Cleveland Cavaliers,” Hughes wrote.

“Sacramento actually has several playable wings, led by bounce-back candidate Keegan Murray. Adding Whitmore to the mix would still be worth it. . . . One thing Whitmore certainly has is talent.”

Whitmore averaged 9.2 points and 2.8 rebounds per game in 21 appearances for Washington last season.

Denver Nuggets Also Interested in Cam Whitmore

If the Kings actually wanted to add Whitmore to the roster before the start of the season, they might have some competition. The Denver Nuggets have also reportedly emerged as a potential suitor for Whitmore, according to NBA insider Marc Stein.

“The Nuggets, I’m told, have emerged as a team to watch in pursuit of Cam Whitmore,” Stein wrote recently. “Whitmore, selected 20th overall in the 2023 NBA Draft, was recently waived by Cleveland after the Cavaliers acquired him as part of the five-team megatrade that landed Peyton Watson in Northeast Ohio.”

Whitmore is still just 22 years old with obvious upside, so it seems likely that he’ll get an opportunity to sign somewhere. It’s just a matter of where, and when.