The lack of wing depth and shooting on this Portland Trail Blazers roster heading into the 2026-27 season makes Toumani Camara more important than ever. But to be that reliable 3-and-D piece for them, Camara must focus on improving his consistency.
Statistically, Camara had the best year of his young career, averaging 13.4 points, 5.1 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and 1.1 steals per game on 44/37/71 shooting splits. Not to mention, he played all 82 games while providing close to All-NBA-level defense, even if he didn't receive the honor this time around.
Toumani Camara's win/loss splits are problematic for Portland
While it's great that Camara continues to trend upwards heading into Year 4, he looks like an almost entirely different player in Blazers wins compared to losses.
The splits reveal Camara averaging 14.9 points while shooting an efficient 49.0 percent from the field and 40.6 percent from downtown in wins.
In losses, that production declines to 11.8 points while shooting just 38.7 percent from the field and 33.4 percent from deep.
With how many wings are now out of the picture, Camara will likely have to play heavy minutes and be relied on as that 3-and-D piece for Portland. They have about half of each of those options coming off the bench between sharpshooter Vit Krejci and defensive playmaker Sidy Cissoko.
Blazers' lack of wing depth puts pressure on Camara
The scalability of Camara's player archetype is why we've always said he's the elite role player that every contender covets.
There are so many questions surrounding Portland's offensive hierarchy with the amount of ballhandlers now in the equation between Ja Morant, Deni Avdija, Damian Lillard, Jrue Holiday, and Scoot Henderson. Camara remains a seamless and even more crucial piece on the wing to help make all of this work.
But because this roster and potentially the season is so tricky to navigate, the last thing they need is to wonder what version of Camara Portland is going to get on a nightly basis. They need him to be that constant, making it easier to figure out the pieces around him.
First-year head coach Micah Nori certainly has his work cut out for him to make the backcourt logjam work. But having already compared Camara to Minnesota Timberwolves two-way wing Jaden McDaniels, it's safe to say Nori already knows Camara's importance to this Blazers roster.
Camara has cemented himself as a building block in Portland with his defense, versatility, and availability. But with how important he's now become in this Blazers rebuild, it's become equally as important that he finds that level of consistency as a scorer.
Last season, the developmental focus was tied to improving his playmaking, ball-handling, shot creation, etc. But with how many guards now reside in Portland, Camara's role within this roster has become far more confined. That's not necessarily a bad thing, as it should allow him to focus more on becoming that more consistent shooter the Blazers need.
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