The Rockets only have four preseason schedules in the 2024-25 season, the fewest of any team, and their record is not bad, although they lost to the Jazz in the first game, but then won three in a row, and from starters to benches, from veterans to rookies, such a depth of rotation is enough to make people envious. But not everyone is very happy, after all, there is only one ball on the field, the regular rotation is at most 10 people, there are new people to join, there are injured players returning, there will be players who performed well last season are divided into playing time, or even fall out of the rotation.
One of the six Rockets took the lead - Whitmore, nicknamed the "White Devil", shut down the Houston Rockets' team social media. You know, this kind of operation is very sensitive, under normal circumstances, there are only two situations in which a player will do this, the first situation is that he already knows that he has been traded or is going to be traded, and the breakup between the two parties is relatively unpleasant; The second scenario is to express dissatisfaction with the team and even submit a trade request. Considering that Whitmore was only the Rockets' No. 20 pick last year, the importance of the team is far from the point where management has to negotiate everything they do, and it is likely that it is the second case.
So why did Whitmore do this, after all, the new season hasn't started yet, and just four preseason games have made him so sensitive? Two are the triggers. First, Whitmore saw from Udoka's rotation in the preseason that it would be difficult for him to play in the new season. In the preseason, the White Devils played an average of 18.8 minutes per game, which was roughly the same as last season's regular season. Especially in the last game, Whitmore only played 13 minutes, and the rotation priority is lower than Ethan, Thompson and Shepard, which can already see some clues - this defender with good independent offensive ability is likely to be a player at the end of the rotation in the new season.
Second, Whitmore's preseason performance was high and low, and it was difficult to convince the head coach. Whitmore has been practicing hard this offseason, and although the team lost the first game, the White Devils scored 17 points on 6-of-8 shooting, and their performance was not ambiguous at all. However, in the next three games, Whitmore's performance was like a roller coaster, and the shooting percentage in the last three games was only 40%, and the preseason finale was directly angry. You must know that the technical characteristic of the White Devil is to score, and if he can't even score, then his tactical value will fall to the bottom.
Whitmore himself must have been frustrated, but as a young player, the ups and downs of mentality will definitely affect his performance on the court, and he has been marginalized and can only be seen in the eyes and anxious, which in turn leads to a mess of offensive options on the court and a plummeting finish. So the question is, what will Udoka, who has always been known for his strict management of the army, do with Whitmore? I'm afraid the young man has to make a choice, if he still wants to stay in the space city, then he has to give in, and slowly start from the edge of the rotation to prove himself again; If you don't want to bow your head, then you have to be ready to roll up and leave.
In your opinion, what was Whitmore's intention? And what will the rocket management do? If you were Whitmore, would you choose to survive in the space city where young people are crowded, or would you find another way?