No. 14: New Orleans Pelicans select Toumani Camara
Original pick: Jordan Hawkins
Finally, Toumani Camara lands with the New Orleans Pelicans, jumping 38 spots from his previous No. 52 overall selection. Outside of GG Jackson II, Camara is the only second-round pick to go inside the lottery in the re-draft, and rightfully so. Camara possesses all the tools to be an elite role piece as a two-way forward. He’s another prospect in this draft class with tremendous defensive upside due to his 6-foot-7 height and seven-foot wingspan.
Part of the reason Camara fell to the second round in the draft was because of his age (now 24) and concerns surrounding his shooting. However, he was close to the league-average three-point shooter for forwards at 33.7 percent. His age does cap his potential a bit, but there’s certainly still room for Camara to grow, particularly on offense, as he continues improving his shooting and becoming more of a shot-creating threat.
The Blazers are fortunate to have acquired him as part of the Deandre Ayton package. But, in this case, the Pelicans would be adding another lengthy forward to go with Brandon Ingram (6-foot-8), Zion Williamson (6-foot-6), Trey Murphy III (6-foot-8), and Herbert Jones (6-foot-7). Camara would add to their team identity and give them another versatile defender who can switch seamlessly in pick-and-roll situations.