Trail Blazers get a bargain with the Toumani Camara extension

Toumani Camara was one of the last picks in the 2023 draft and a throw-in for the Damian Lillard trade that summer. Now he's a foundational piece for the Portland Trail Blazers.

Sunday, the Blazers agreed to a four-year, $82M extension with Camara, a healthy raise on the $2.2M he's getting paid for 2025-26. The second-year forward out of Belgium is one of the NBA's best defenders, making the All-Defensive second team last season. Camara increased his scoring from 7.5 PPG to 11.3 PPG last season, emerging as a legitimate three-point threat by shooting 37.5% from deep on 4.6 attempts per game.

Portland's bargaining power over Camara got it a deal

Camara signed a bargain contract in part because he had two years left on his current incredible bargain of a contract. As a late-second-round pick, Camara signed a four-year deal for $7.6M. In exchange for the Blazers giving up their team option for 2026-27, Camara took a deal that averages just over $20M per season — but he gets that extra money a year earlier.

The Blazers can keep Camara through his 30th birthday on this deal, which means they're likely getting his prime seasons. Though with Camara's rapid improvement in his two NBA seasons, he may still be getting better. Camara doubled his assists, more than doubling his points generated by assists (438 to 213) while cutting his turnover rate by 20%. He had 76% more steals (1.5 per game in 2024-25) in his second season and blocked 50 shots.

What makes Camara such a valuable piece is his versatility. He can play either forward position, and while he can hit shots, he doesn't need the ball to contribute — letting the team run the offense through Deni Avdija, the newly-extended Shaedon Sharpe and next year, Damian Lillard.

Camara was the prize of the Lillard trade

When Portland sent Lillard to the Milwaukee Bucks in 2023, Camara was barely mentioned. Portland acquired Jrue Holiday, who it almost immediately traded to Boston Celtics — then reacquired this summer. The Blazers got Deandre Ayton, who they bought out after two disappointing seasons, and three first-round picks which won't convey until 2028-30.

But they also got Camara, an unheralded forward from Belgium who turned out to be the kind of "three-and-D" forward that every NBA team covets. The Blazers could have waited to lock him up long-term, but it speaks to their commitment to Camara as part of their young core that they extended him a year earlier than they needed to.

With the salary cap expected to keep up its steady rise, Camara's contract should only become even more affordable. For a franchise that has seemed directionless in the past few years, extending Camara is a strong statement about the long-term, defensively-focused future of Blazers basketball.