Toumani Camara, Draft Picks Dealt to Portland in Blockbuster Damian Lillard Trade

Damian Lillard was the highlight of the NBA’s newest blockbuster trade. But what are the details on the rookie and picks Portland is getting?

Damian Lillard’s longtime saga with the Portland Trail Blazers has finally come to an end.

On Wednesday, Portland, Milwaukee and Phoenix agreed to a three-team trade to Lillard to the Bucks; Jusuf Nurkic, Nassir Little, Keon Johnson and Grayson Allen to the Suns; and Jrue Holiday, Deandre Ayton, Toumani Camara and picks to the Trail Blazers.

Lillard, among others, is rightfully the highlight of the deal, as his presence in Milwaukee next to former MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo is sure to send ripples throughout the NBA.

But rookie Toumani Camara, who was set to see legit minutes for Phoenix in the upcoming season, as well as the cache of draft picks the Trail Blazers just landed are interesting too.

Camara hedges towards the older side at 23, and was selected No. 52 overall in the second round of this year’s 2023 NBA Draft.

At 6-foot-8, Camara is a forward who’s keen to handle the ball, utilizing his speed to maneuver by bigger, slower-footed defenders and get to the ring with ambidextrous finishing. Defensively, he’ll likely be able to hold his own. And all the while he’ll continue to improve in areas not yet seen such as premier passing, ranged shooting and more.

In college, he played two years at Georgia before finding his groove in his latter two years at Dayton. As a senior, he averaged 13.9 points, 8.6 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.2 steals per game while shooting 54 percent overall and 36 percent from beyond the arc.

Suffice to say, he’ll likely be able to earn backup minutes pretty quickly on a fresh, young Portland squad. Making his acquisition in the trade all the better.

As for the picks, Portland likely could’ve found better packages league-wide, but obviously prioritized physical talent first. They landed one 2029 first round pick and swaps in 2028 and 2030.

While they won’t see return on investment in those for awhile, that could play even better into their hands, as the Bucks are likely set to dominate the Eastern Conference for the foreseeable future with two of the best players in basketball.

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