The Portland Trail Blazers are expected to go star hunting this offseason and are already expressing interest in Giannis Antetokounmpo. Whether they land Giannis directly or facilitate a blockbuster to come away with another star like Jaylen Brown, it's going to ultimately cost a portion of Portland's promising young core. That potentially includes two-way wing Toumani Camara, who has become a key building block for the Blazers.
The headliner in a blockbuster trade is those Milwaukee Bucks picks acquired via the Damian Lillard trade in 2023. While those are still coveted assets, they have lost some of their value thanks to the NBA's anti-tanking changes to the lottery. Milwaukee doesn't necessarily have to get those backs in order to initiate a rebuild after trading Giannis, as there's suddenly little guarantee that would result in a top pick.
For Portland, that means the package may have to get that much sweeter in terms of young assets attached to those picks, which is where Camara could come into play.
Blazers landing a star could cost them a building block in Toumani Camara
The majority of trade ideas consist of Jerami Grant as a salary filler, those Bucks picks (their 2029 unprotected first-round pick and swaps in 2028 and 2030), and some combination of Scoot Henderson and/or Shaedon Sharpe.
Portland should be willing to part ways with its high upside, yet wildly inconsistent and uncertain backcourt pieces. Despite those being the supposed core of this rebuild as their first two two-picks in 2022 and 2023, Portland's rebuild has been surprising in that their foundation lies in the frontcourt: Camara, Deni Avdija, and Donovan Clingan. Two were acquired via draft, and one was acquired in what was deemed a historically weak draft class.
But if Portland wants to ship Henderson or Sharpe in their quest for more established star power, they didn't do a great job of showcasing the talent this season. Henderson was sidelined for the majority of the season with a hamstring injury, returning to his up-and-down ways as he struggled to carve out a consistent role within Portland's offensive hierarchy.
Statistically, Sharpe had a career year, but he disappeared in his first playoff appearance when the spotlight was on, and it mattered the most. Sharpe largely fell out of Tiago Splitter's rotation in their first-round series against the San Antonio Spurs, after which he said he was fully healthy. If I'm a team like Milwaukee, that can't be reassuring if Sharpe is the headliner young asset received in exchange for shipping a top-five player in the world.
The safer, more established asset who has more value around the league is Camara. Doesn't it make sense that the one player Blazers fans don't want to part ways with is also the one piece a team will be adamant about receiving?
Sharpe's player archetype has declined in value around the league, as front offices are getting smarter and looking past impressive scoring numbers to see what actually results in winning at the highest level. That's resulted in Camara's player archetype as a two-way wing who can impact winning without requiring the ball to increase in value even further.
Camara's underappreciated durability is just another bonus, as Portland certainly got its money's worth for the extension prior to the season. Even though Sharpe was paid slightly more in his extension, it's Camara whom teams should and likely will be seeking in return.
That puts the Blazers in a difficult position this summer, as they'll have to decide which timeline they want to prioritize.
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