I think Camara is a small forward

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Can Camara defend guards better than Simons? Put him at shooting guard.

Simons had 0 assists , 1 rebound and 4 turnovers.
He shot the ball well, but so did Camara.

Camara had 3 assists and 4 rebounds in 2 1/2 minutes less playing time that Simons.
 
https://ripcityproject.com/2023/10/...piece-lillard-trade-impresses-billups-praise/


Blazers news: Ignored piece of Lillard trade impresses after Billups’ praise


by Andrew Hanlon12 hours ago
The Portland Trail Blazers won game one of the 2023-24 season, routing the New Zealand Breakers 106-66 at the Moda Center. Coach Chauncey Billups’ squad was led by 14 points from Anfernee Simons.

Scoot Henderson flashed his all-around game, scoring 7 points, hitting a three and collecting 6 assists compared to just 1 turnover. Deandre Ayton, the prize of the Damian Lillard trade, finished with 8 points and 6 rebounds to go along with 2 assists and a pair of steals.

The Blazers blew the game open in the second half, outscoring the Breakers 58-27 over the final two quarters behind the team’s group of young reserves, one of whom had a particularly strong night.

It probably came as no surprise to Billups, though, who’s already showered this rookie second-round pick with praise.

Toumani Camara continues his strong start with the Portland Trail Blazers
Ayton was the headliner in the three-team deal that sent Lillard to the Milwaukee Bucks and Jusuf Nurkic to the Phoenix Suns. Malcolm Brogdon and Robert Williams III were added to the haul after Jrue Holiday was traded to the Boston Celtics.

Meanwhile, Camara appeared to be nothing more than a throw-in lottery ticket from Phoenix, but the 23-year-old is quickly proving that isn’t the case.

The second-round pick from Dayton scored 13 points in fewer than 15 minutes in the win over New Zealand. He shot 5 of 6 from the floor and 2 of 3 from deep while adding 4 rebounds and 3 assists.

Billups has seen this show from Camara already in training camp, though, as he told Aaron Fentress of The Oregonian/Oregon Live.

I’ve been very impressed with Toumani. He’s just a basketball player. He’s just in the right places. … He just has a good feel about him. He has a toughness about him.
Portland Trail Blazers Head Coach Chauncey Billups on Toumani Camara

It wasn’t just one preseason game or a few training camp practices, though. Camara averaged more than 16 points for the Suns in summer league while also pulling down 7 rebounds per game. In his final season at Dayton, the 6-foot-8, 220-pound forward averaged 13.9 points and 8.6 rebounds on 55 percent shooting and 36 percent shooting from three.

Heading into June’s draft, Camara was scouted as a big wing with a versatile offensive skill set, something he’s already shown in his first few bites at the NBA apple.

Will Camara be as impactful as Ayton, Brogdon or Williams? No. But he’s quickly proving to be much more than a slap-on piece in a mega-trade, and with the opportunity to grow on a young, rebuilding roster, the Blazers may be stumbling into a legitimate rotation forward in the unlikeliest of ways.

  • Published on 10/11/2023 at 7:00 AM PDT
  • Last updated on 10/11/2023 at 7:00 AM PDT
 
STOMP said:
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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perhaps you're not familiar with the phrase "small amount" :)

Anyway, thanks for the info about Hart. I didn't know that.
 
Camara actually measured 1/2 inch taller than Grant at the combine. They have the same standing reach of 8' 11".

Camara has got the fundamentals and shooting the Blazers need at power forward. Camara will be the rebounder that Grant isn't.

At small forward, they have Thuybulle for now,
but Rupert could end up being a bigger/longer version of Thybulle.

A lineup of Scoot, Sharpe, Thybulle/Rupert, Camara, and Ayton (interchangeable with other mobile/defensive centers) could be pretty good.

The chemistry on and off court between the two Europeans who are both French speakers could be a bonus.

upload_2023-10-12_6-34-16.jpeg

upload_2023-10-12_6-34-38.jpeg
 
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blazerfan11 said:
A lineup of Scoot, Sharpe, Thybulle/Rupert, Camara, and Ayton (interchangeable with other mobile/defensive centers) could be pretty good.
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As much as I would like to see that happen, the likelihood of us developing three starter-caliber players from the same draft class--two from the second-round, no less--would be exceedingly low.

But this season is about nothing if not hope for the future, so I'll join you in thinking how cool that would be.
 
PtldPlatypus said:
As much as I would like to see that happen, the likelihood of us developing three starter-caliber players from the same draft class--two from the second-round, no less--would be exceedingly low.

But this season is about nothing if not hope for the future, so I'll join you in thinking how cool that would be.
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It’s a marathon and not a sprint. Some people run it faster than others. Scoot will contribute now. Maybe Camara next season and I think it will take Rupes years to find any time in the rotation. But who knows, right? The wild card in all this could be trades. We don’t know if Grant will be here long term. We don’t know about Brogdon or Williams. So there might be more minutes soon lol.
 
I really like having Walker, Camara and Murray as three plug and play stretch 4s. I think we'll see combinations of two of thes guys on the floor together as the season goes on.
 
inconceivable said:
If camara gets ahead of murray in the hierarchy, schmitz needs fired
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tbh it seems like there's very little hierarchy on this team among murray, camara and walker atm. and I think the FO likes it that way.
 
inconceivable said:
If camara gets ahead of murray in the hierarchy, schmitz needs fired
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Nah. Not every selection is going to hit, and that is just facts. And even with that said, we still have no idea how these dudes will turn out.

This is super reactionary, and I say that as someone who also wasn't super thrilled with the Murray pick.
 
blazerfan11 said:
Murray might have been picked to please Dame. Who knows.
What we do know is that he was picked before Dame asked to be traded.
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That has always been my theory. They grabbed one young rookie, and one older rookie hoping he could contribute sooner for Dame. All conjecture though.
 
Pinwheel1 said:
Because a 2nd round pick turned out better than a 1st round pick? You might as well fire him and every other GM or scout in the NBA......because sooner or later it will happen to all of them.
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I mean, Denver picked Doug McDermott 11th and Jokic in the 2nd round. Should their GM have been fired?
 
theprunetang said:
I mean, Denver picked Doug McDermott 11th and Jokic in the 2nd round. Should their GM have been fired?
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Another way to put it is that All the GMs that passed on Jokic should be fired, including their own GM.

Jokic was the 41st pick, so that's going to be a lot of GMs.
 
blazerfan11 said:
Another way to put it is that All the GMs that passed on Jokic should be fired, including their own GM.

Jokic was the 41st pick, so that's going to be a lot of GMs.
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And there are a couple of 2nd round picks that end up better than their 1st round colleagues every draft. They do a lot of research and analyze a ton of data, conduct interviews, workouts, etc., but in the end, drafting is an imperfect science. Gotta hope you hit more often than your contemporaries, and be ok with that. Can't fire every GM every year because some rando blew up after a 2nd round selection.
 
Piling on... the W's passed on Draymond twice before striking gold in the 2nd round

STOMP
 
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