I think Camara is a small forward

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Natebishop3

Natebishop3

Don't tread on me!
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He handles the ball well. He has a nice outside shot. He’s 6’8 and 220. He strikes me as a small forward. Pippen was 6’8 210.

Right now we don’t have much time at SF because Brogdon is still here which pushes Sharpe to SF. If we move Brogdon that will free up time at shooting guard for Sharpe and we can hopefully get some minutes for Camara at wing.
 
Natebishop3 said:
He handles the ball well. He has a nice outside shot. He’s 6’8 and 220. He strikes me as a small forward. Pippen was 6’8 210.

Right now we don’t have much time at SF because Brogdon is still here which pushes Sharpe to SF. If we move Brogdon that will free up time at shooting guard for Sharpe and we can hopefully get some minutes for Camara at wing.
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He's a PF. He can actually rebound.

Grant is a SF.
 
CJ_is_Gone said:
He's a PF. He can actually rebound.

Grant is a SF.
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agreed...although they'd be pretty interchangeable

I posted Camara's college stats before:

upload_2023-10-11_10-36-43.png

what is impressive to me is his consistent progression of improvement...

as his FGA increased, year by year, he steadily improved in FG%, 2ptFG%, 3ptFG%, eFG%, and TS%. He also got better each year in offensive, defensive, and total rebounding. His winshare/48 and BPM's improved as well with a small blip in BPM. His assist rate increased each year and his turnover rate his senior season was the lowest of his career

as for rebounding, as a senior, he averaged 8.6 rebounds/game in 30 minutes which works out to 10.3 rebounds/36. Even for college that's outstanding
 
If the Blazer.com roster is correct, then based on size alone he is as much of a 4 as anyone else on the roster....if you exclude
Brogdon and Williams. So I see no reason why we need to pigeonhole him as either. He seems to be in that grey area of today's NBA where for the most part he he can play either one. (Which I like a lot)
 
Idk if he is a 3 or a 4 or both. However, I'm pretty sure he'll be a rotation player by the end of the year.

I did a small amount of research on him, and learned why he was taken so late: not a knockdown shooter, not an elite athlete, small school. These reasons are why the Josh Harts of the world aren't lotto picks. But, like Josh, Camara is a baller.

Sorry to the Kris Murray fans, but Camara has played much, much better than Kris, even though Kris was drafted much higher.
 
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Wizard Mentor said:
Idk if he is a 3 or a 4 or both. However, I'm pretty sure he'll be a rotation player by the end of the year.

I did a small amount of research on him, and learned by he was taken so late: not a knockdown shooter, not an elite athlete, small school. These reasons are why the Josh Harts of the world aren't lotto picks. But, like Josh, Camara is a baller.

Sorry to the Kris Murray fans, but Camara has played much, much better than Kris, even though Kris was drafted much higher.
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Yep. I wasn't a fan of the Murray draft selection.
Still plenty of time for him (Murray) to prove me wrong, but I really like that Portland snagged Camara.
 
Wizard Mentor said:
Idk if he is a 3 or a 4 or both. However, I'm pretty sure he'll be a rotation player by the end of the year.

I did a small amount of research on him, and learned by he was taken so late: not a knockdown shooter, not an elite athlete, small school. These reasons are why the Josh Harts of the world aren't lotto picks. But, like Josh, Camara is a baller.

Sorry to the Kris Murray fans, but Camara has played much, much better than Kris, even though Kris was drafted much higher.
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Biggest knock I can find is his vert is only 33 inches. I haven’t done much comparing but that seems kinda shitty.
 
Kuzma 2.0.

Intriguing mix of size and handle with shooting.

Also fun fact, he's 3 months younger than Nas.
 
Samuel said:
He has a better standing reach than PJ Washington, Zion, Draymond Green—same as Al Horford.

That's just a cursory scrape of the PF landscape.
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Washington is a little beefier. 230 lbs. not in love with a 6’7 power forward. Zion is a freak of nature. Only 6’6 but 284 lbs and a 45 inch vertical jump. Draymond is 6’6 230 but also kind of a freak in other ways. He’s a point forward and an insanely talented defender. Horford is 6’9 and 240.
 
Natebishop3 said:
Biggest knock I can find is his vert is only 33 inches. I haven’t done much comparing but that seems kinda shitty.
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6'7" with a 7'0" wing and a standing reach of 8'11". 33" vert on top of that gets his max reach up to 11'8". I think anyone who can reach above the top of the square is doing just fine.
 
Natebishop3 said:
Washington is a little beefier. 230 lbs. not in love with a 6’7 power forward. Zion is a freak of nature. Only 6’6 but 284 lbs and a 45 inch vertical jump. Draymond is 6’6 230 but also kind of a freak in other ways. He’s a point forward and an insanely talented defender. Horford is 6’9 and 240.
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Camara weighs 220 and will be entering a pro-level weight training environment for the first time.

Scouts have described him as a 'playmaking big.'

I'm not sure why there's a rush to categorize the guy—but if you do want to go there, there's no reason to suggest he can't play the 4 IMO.
 
PtldPlatypus said:
6'7" with a 7'0" wing and a standing reach of 8'11". 33" vert on top of that gets his max reach up to 11'8". I think anyone who can reach above the top of the square is doing just fine.
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PJ Washington has a 43” vert.
Draymond had a 33” vert, so the same.
Zion is insane.
Horford had a 35” vert so slightly better but he’s also taller.
 
Honestly I’m not sure how we got fixated on wingspan, vert etc.

Rupert has a 7’3 wingspan, 8’10 standing reach and there ain’t no chance you want him playing power forward lol.

Can they defend the position? That’s really the most important thing.
 
Natebishop3 said:
Honestly I’m not sure how we got fixated on wingspan, vert etc.

Rupert has a 7’3 wingspan, 8’10 standing reach and there ain’t no chance you want him playing power forward lol.

Can they defend the position? That’s really the most important thing.
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I get hammered each time I say it but I think wingspan and standing reach are two of the most overrated stats in the NBA. Players don't defend with their fingertips. They defend with their legs, hips, anticipation, reaction, and focus. A player with his arms extended all the way out from his shoulders can only do one thing...dislocate his shoulder (or elbow)

that said, if you project Camara to his ceiling, he'd be fine as a PF. Besides, I think SF/PF are a lot more interchangeable than PG/SG
 
Natebishop3 said:
He looks too small to be a power forward to me. 6’7 barefoot. 220 lbs. he does have a 7’0 wingspan.
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In today's somewhat "positionless" NBA does "defining" whether he is a PF or SF really matter? Can he defend 3's and 4s? maybe even 2's? Seems he can rebound a lot better than Grant who is just an awful rebounder, been high on him since the trade, I think he can be a solid rotational player, maybe more.
 
Natebishop3 said:
PJ Washington has a 43” vert.
Draymond had a 33” vert, so the same.
Zion is insane.
Horford had a 35” vert so slightly better but he’s also taller.
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Oh, I wasn't saying that as a defense of him being a PF--just saying that he's plenty athletic to be a quality NBA forward. I would love for him to be our SFotF.
 
After reading and listening to the various arguments regarding Grant’s best position for quite some time, he’s better as a PF. He can guard 2-3 positions depending on match-ups. His size, length, athleticism and how he uses them create better mismatches in his favor than at SF. With his mild allergy to rebounding — while he does other NBA skills well — it means the team needs a better rebounding SF and bigs … and the idea of guards who actually value rebounding and blocking out would be a nice chamge.

Camara? I have no idea what he can actually do at the NBA level or what he fits … so I’ll wait on him.
On Murray, I look at his brother and scale it down just to be realistic … which is LIKELY a pretty conservative estimation of his skills and abilities given how the brothers developed in college.
 
Natebishop3 said:
Honestly I’m not sure how we got fixated on wingspan, vert etc.
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The thread title is 'Camara is a small forward', and a lot of the framing of him as a prospect was around him as a switchy big. It's likely one of the reasons he fell (that he's a smaller big).

But if you dig in, and you watch the tape, you realize he could have the chops to guard both positions.
 
wizenheimer said:
I get hammered each time I say it but I think wingspan and standing reach are two of the most overrated stats in the NBA. Players don't defend with their fingertips. They defend with their legs, hips, anticipation, reaction, and focus. A player with his arms extended all the way out from his shoulders can only do one thing...dislocate his shoulder (or elbow)

that said, if you project Camara to his ceiling, he'd be fine as a PF. Besides, I think SF/PF are a lot more interchangeable than PG/SG
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So we agree......being an undersized SG is not as big of an issue as everyone makes it out to be. You either can defend or you can't, size is not the issue.
 
Pinwheel1 said:
So we agree......being an undersized SG is not as big of an issue as everyone makes it out to be. You either can defend or you can't, size is not the issue.
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Sure but this is why "undersized" is usually followed by "score first" and "horrible defense."
 
Pinwheel1 said:
So we agree......being an undersized SG is not as big of an issue as everyone makes it out to be. You either can defend or you can't, size is not the issue.
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did you lose track of which thread you're in? This isn't the Simons is bad at defense thread
 
Wizard Mentor said:
Idk if he is a 3 or a 4 or both. However, I'm pretty sure he'll be a rotation player by the end of the year.

I did a small amount of research on him, and learned why he was taken so late: not a knockdown shooter, not an elite athlete, small school. These reasons are why the Josh Harts of the world aren't lotto picks. But, like Josh, Camara is a baller.
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I really don't understand the Hart comparison. Josh went to Villanova (which is a borderline blue blood school) where he won a national championship and was a 1st team All American. He shot 39% from 3's for his college career. He is a baller, but was not flying under the radar.

17 26 34 36. Those are the 3 point shooting percentages Camara posted in his 4 years of college. If he can drop 3s at an upper 30s % in the pros, play smart ball and be solid and versatile on D, like Josh he'll make a lot of money the next 10 years

Below is a Phoenix article fretting that they shouldn't have moved him...

https://valleyofthesuns.com/2023/10/11/phoenix-suns-may-given-soon-former-draft-pick/

STOMP
 
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MickZagger said:
He’s a lefty too!

I’m a fan of left handed players. They play almost an unorthodox style which is herky jerky and harder to guard.
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Is Rupert left handed? He's the herky-jerkiest of them all.
 
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