2023 NBA Draft: Villanova’s Cam Whitmore drafted 20th overall by Houston Rockets.

After a longer-than-initially-expected wait, Cam Whitmore’s professional basketball journey will begin in Houston.

Whitmore, who was initially expected to go in the top 10, slid on draft day. The 6-foot-7 wing finally heard his name when he was chosen 20th overall in the 2023 NBA Draft on Thursday night in Brooklyn.

After missing the first seven games of the 2022-23 season, Whitmore went on to average 12.5 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 1.4 steals per game in his lone season on the Main Line. He earned Big East Freshman of the Year honors.Whitmore said afterward that he is fine with where he was picked and that he entered the night without expectations of who would draft him or when.

He is Villanova’s first true one-and-done since Tim Thomas in 1997, and the Wildcats’ latest first-round draftee since Saddiq Bey was chosen by the Detroit Pistons in 2020.

Before Whitmore, over the last decade, Villanova has seen five other Wildcats go in the first round and a total of nine players drafted.

Whitmore performed well at the NBA Draft Combine and had the measurables to support it. He had a 40.5-inch max vertical leap and tested well in speed and agility. Also, at only 18 years old, there’s plenty of room for the Rockets to mold Whitmore.

Although he has the potential and a physical profile ready for the NBA, teams cited there was more to be desired in individual team workouts and interviews. Leading into Thursday, there were various reports and questions surrounding his health, intensity, and performance in practice that may lead to a slide on draft night. It ended up being more of a slide than most expected.

I promise you there's not," he said. "I have no idea. I don't know what happened. But I feel fine. It's my body. If they think it's something different, they have their own opinions. But at the end of the day, it's my body."

Whitmore said he likes the versatility of Houston's young players, including guard Amen Thompson, who the Rockets selected with the No. 4 overall pick. Whitmore described Thompson as "a great player, great athlete" and "somebody who I can definitely play alongside."

"Everybody can do everything on the floor," he said of the Rockets. "Defend, run the floor, rebound, block shots, they can shoot. That's just an advantage. Everybody is an athlete. So there's a lot of run and jump. Run up the floor, that's my play style. I think it will be a great fit with those guys."

Washington began its complete roster overhaul under new president of basketball operations Michael Winger on Sunday, when Beal agreed to waive his no-trade clause to be sent to the Suns. That deal was officially completed Thursday, with the Wizards receiving Paul and Landry Shamet; first-round pick swaps in 2024, 2026, 2028 and 2030; second-round picks from 2024 through 2028, plus 2030; and cash from the Suns in the deal. Phoenix also received Jordan Goodwin and Isaiah Todd from the Wizards. Then, in a separate deal, Paul was sent to Golden State in exchange for Poole plus the draft compensation from the Warriors.

Washington will get Poole, who will step into the starting shooting guard spot vacated by Beal in the trade, and as part of a newly formed starting backcourt for the Wizards that has come together in the past 24 hours. Washington had previously agreed to send Kristaps Porzingis to the Boston Celtics late Wednesday night -- shortly before his midnight deadline to pick up his $36 million player option for next season -- in a three-team deal with the Memphis Grizzlies that saw the Wizards land point guard Tyus Jones.

During his time with the Warriors, Poole -- the 28th pick in the 2019 NBA draft -- developed into a dynamic scoring guard, one who averaged 24.6 points and 4.6 assists as a starter in 43 games this season.

But Poole's season was overshadowed by Green punching him during a preseason practice, and after playing well in Golden State's run to the 2022 NBA title -- averaging 17.0 points on 50.8% shooting overall and 39% from 3 -- his numbers slumped to 10.3 points on 34% shooting overall and 25.4% from 3.

Meanwhile, sources told Wojnarowski on Tuesday that Washington forward Kyle Kuzma, one of the more intriguing free agents on the market this summer, has declined his player option and will be an unrestricted free agent.Now, Whitmore will get to put that behind him, as he prepares to begin his NBA journey in Houston. The Rockets were one of the youngest teams in the NBA last season and they went 22-60 this past year and have plenty of young talent, like Jalen Green and Kevin Porter Jr.