Well, that didn't take very long. What started out as a rumor just a few days ago has now come to fruition. The Denver Nuggets are signing free agent forward Cam Whitmore to their final two-way spot. It's a no-brainer move that gives the Nuggets loads of upside without taking any unnecessary risk to the roster. And fans should be happy that the front office absolutely got this bargain play right.
Whitmore was recently waived by the Cleveland Cavaliers after he was acquired from the Washington Wizards as part of the five-team Peyton Watson sign-and-trade. The Cavs apparently didn't want the 2023 20th overall pick. But their loss is the Nuggets' gain. Whitmore has plenty of upside, and stashing him to the team's final two-way spot gives the Nuggets a chance to see what Whitmore's got while still keeping their 15th and final standard roster spot open and flexible.
As a two-way player, Whitmore can play in up to 50 games for the Nuggets this season. But he's not playoff-eligible. However, if the Nuggets still have that 15th roster spot open after the trade deadline, they could elevate Whitmore to a standard contract for the rest of the season, like they did last year with Spencer Jones.
Whitmore has a lot of upside in areas the Nuggets need
One of the key needs for the Nuggets this offseason was an upgrade in athleticism. Whitmore solves that problem when he's on the court. The 6-foot-6 wing is very athletic, and he could be the most athletic player on the team.
One of his strengths is getting to the rim. He's a downhill rim-runner who can score in bunches. The 22-year-old Whitmore has averaged 10.5 points over 119 career games while playing just 17.3 minutes per game, which translates to 21.8 points per 36 minutes.
Whitmore is also excellent in the transition game and would be the perfect target for a long outlet pass from Nikola Jokic. Whitmore can also pair with Jokic as a slasher off the ball, and he should find easy buckets cutting to the rim in the Nuggets' offense, another area of need this offseason.
Whitmore also has upside as an on-ball defender, but he hasn't been able to get that to translate so far in his three-year career. But now he's got a chance to develop that potential.
Whitmore is perfect in the two-way spot
The biggest reason Whitmore is perfect in the Nuggets' final two-way spot is that he's still got some work to do to refine his game. Sure, he's great at creating his own points, but he isn't a playmaker at all, and he's only a mediocre-at-best three-point shooter, with a career 34.9% average from deep. There was no reason for the Nuggets to fill the final roster spot with a question mark while putting themselves deeper into the second apron and facing an even larger luxury tax bill.
But with first-round talent upside, Whitmore is a no-brainer decision for the final two-way spot. And the Nuggets could have just picked up one of the steals of the offseason.
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