Tuesday night, the Phoenix Suns suffered one of their more heartbreaking defeats as they fell to the Portland Trail Blazers 109-104 in a game that they could have won. A disappointing outcome considering that Kevin Durant and Devin Booker, two of the Suns’ top three players, were available for the contest.
With a career-high 40 points, Durant was at the peak of his game and further demonstrated to the organization that they are now squandering a fantastic season from the 35-year-old. Even though he was far from “domin-Ayton” the game, former Suns first overall selection Deandre Ayton played for the Trail Blazers, which only served to exacerbate the injury.
Frank Vogel, the head coach of the Suns, was eager to commend a different previous Suns draft choice who was never even a competitive player for the team, following the game.
After being chosen 52nd overall by the team in this year’s NBA Draft, Toumani Camara went on to contribute to the team’s success in a few memorable Summer League games. Many players have enjoyed successful runs in exhibition games but have never really succeeded in the regular season; yet, with Camara, things felt different.
Coaches love to see players who are willing to cut hard and move without the ball, and he demonstrated this trait while working tirelessly on every possession on both ends, even though his influence on the box score was little. In the Ayton trade that sent the Suns Jusuf Nurkic and Grayson Allen, Camara was dealt to the Trail Blazers. Following Tuesday’s defeat, Vogel had the following to say about Camara:
Vogel made his remarks following Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups’ admission that the group put a lot of effort into landing him in the Ayton trade. Conversely, Vogel was just as eager to hang onto the youngster, but he understood that they would need to let go of Camara if they were to include two of the top six players in their rotation.
The Trail Blazers have played in 26 games this season, with the 23-year-old Belgian starting 17 of them, including their two games versus the Suns thus far. He has accomplished in both games what he demonstrated to the Suns during Summer League: forcing more skillful offensive opponents to work hard for their points.
Throughout the two games, Camara had quite a few opportunities to square up with Booker, and he seemed to enjoy each one. Perhaps most impressive of all, though, was that he continued to return even after being thoroughly fried by the superstar. The fact that Camara is defending in a way that the Suns would love to have while still being young and on a cheap contract makes it much more hurtful that he is doing so elsewhere.
Presumably, the front desk didn’t believe they would have the minutes or the time to work with Camara to help him realize his full potential. As nice as he has been so far this season, the Trail Blazers are still 7-19, so if he ends up playing for a competitive club, it is unclear how long he will be a starter in this league.
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However, it is certainly fair to say that Camara had the potential to help the Suns achieve their hopes for a rotation that included Eric Gordon and, more notably, Keita Bates-Diop. Although his 30.4 percent shooting from outside the arc isn’t good enough for the Suns, he is a willing man-to-man defender, and there’s every reason to believe that will improve with time.
It’s evident that Coach Vogel believed he could bring out the best in Camara, having worked with some of the league’s greatest players. A conscientious rookie seems like the perfect addition to the Suns, who are now 14-13 and holding onto the 10th slot in the West, considering how inconsistent they have been so far this season. But the Trail Blazers seem to have been validated in their insistence.
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