The Portland Trail Blazers now have a 12-18 record after falling 110-106 at home to the Orlando Magic. Toumani Camara had the worst plus/minus by far in the game with a -14, finishing with just 10 points, six rebounds, four assists, two steals, and two turnovers while shooting an inefficient 4-of-12 from the field and 0-of-6 from beyond the arc in 40 minutes of play.
Camara appears to have regressed from last season's surprising breakout, averaging 12.4 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 2.8 assists on 41/34/71 shooting splits this year. He made the NBA All-Defensive Second Team last season but has also taken a step back defensively, ranking 11th best on the Blazers' roster in defensive rating this season (118.8).
Portland invested long-term in Camara this offseason in the form of a four-year, $82 million extension. That initially appeared to be a low-risk decision as Camara had to maintain his level of play last year in order to justify that value -- as opposed to Shaedon Sharpe's four-year, $90 million deal, where he had to improve upon the current version of himself to warrant the extension.
The issue, however, is that Camara is surprisingly worse than he was last season.
Toumani Camara is regressing for the Blazers
Heading into the season, the expectation was that Camara would improve upon his 3-and-D skillset -- an incredibly coveted player archetype around the league -- to become more polished on the offensive end in terms of playmaking and shot creation.
With the departure of Anfernee Simons and Deandre Ayton, as well as the backcourt injuries to Damian Lillard and Jrue Holiday, Camara has had every opportunity to step up alongside Deni Avdija as a primary offensive initiator.
Unfortunately, the scenario the shorthanded Blazers face exposed significant flaws in Camara's game. He's not only not ready to step up into a larger role, but his game also dips significantly when he's not surrounded by the ideal complementary pieces.
Portland may have stolen Camara from the Phoenix Suns, but there's still a reason he was the No. 52 overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft. Teams were turned away by his age (suggesting a lack of upside) and fit at the NBA level.
To his credit, Camara has already proven doubters wrong with his ability to adapt to the wing position. His collegiate experience playing in the frontcourt also provides him with a unique skillset in terms of his defensive versatility. But unfortunately, Camara isn't turning into this building block that Portland may have imagined when they decided to extend him to such a lucrative deal.
His lack of playmaking and shot creation limits Camara to a 3-and-D role, but he's taken a significant step back this season as both a defender and floor spacer. At that point, what is his value?
Still an ideal player archetype for a contender, but Portland got ahead of itself by making him a focal point of the rebuild instead of the elite role piece that he's best-suited to be.