The Portland Trail Blazers acquired Toumani Camara and Deandre Ayton from the Phoenix Suns in exchange for Jusuf Nurkic, Nassir Little, and Keon Johnson, which was part of the blockbuster Damian Lillard trade. At first, this trade essentially was a swap of two starting-caliber centers that could benefit from a change of scenery. In hindsight, it's the Toumani Camara trade.
With Nurkic's value rapidly declining and Portland's Ayton experiment thankfully over, the Blazers were able to upgrade their roster without any strings attached. No dead money after this season, no future draft capital sacrificed, no problematic contracts or personalities -- all while landing a cornerstone player in Camara who perfectly fits their rebuilding timeline and roster needs.
With Nurkic declining and Ayton gone, the Blazers get Camara with no strings attached
Camara was the No. 52 overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft. The public perception was that he was a throw-in piece in the trade, but that was far from the case. Portland did its pre-draft homework, interviewing Camara and later specifically targeting him to be included in this deal.
That evaluation process paid off better than they could have even imagined. In his first two seasons with Portland, Camara is averaging 9.5 points, 5.4 rebounds, 1.8 assists, and 1.2 steals on 46/36/74 shooting splits. Oh, he also already has an All-Defensive Team selection.
Camara has emerged as a legitimate 3-and-D wing and an integral piece in Portland's rebuild. You could even make a case that he was the Blazers' most impactful player last season, and he only continues to improve on the offensive end, expanding his arsenal as a playmaker and shot creator.
Camara's inclusion in this deal already made it a clear fleece for the Blazers, but that trade looks even more lopsided after this offseason.
The Blazers were able to free themselves from Ayton, clearing the path for Donovan Clingan and rookie Yang Hansen to develop and further evaluate them as promising long-term solutions at the five. Even better, Ayton forfeited $10 million of his $35.6 million salary for the 2025-26 season in the buyout. Portland was able to wash its hands, drastically improving its situation from a financial and developmental standpoint.
Although Ayton's time in Portland didn't go as planned, they are still left with a cornerstone in Camara, an ideal third or fourth option for a contending team due to his ability to impact winning without requiring the ball. And it's not like Portland gave up significant assets to land that valuable a piece. They dumped Nurkic, whose career is spiraling downwards even more so than Ayton's.
Nurkic bounced around from Phoenix to Charlotte, and now surprisingly lands with the Utah Jazz. He was also recently called out by his national head coach for being out of shape, which shows that Portland was wise to dump him for anything of value while they still could.