DeAndre Ayton And Toumani Camara In The House WOOOO!

[PDXKnight]

I think Ayton is gonna really like his new home here in Portland. Remember L&G, he's from the Bahamas, went to U of Arizona, and got drafted by the Phoenix Suns. Welcome to the great Northwest Big Fella.

But nobody here has even mentioned Toumani Camara, and I think he may become a very interesting player, once we finally get a chance to see what he can do. Considering the hiring of the Super-Agent by Cronin, I wouldn't be surprised if this kid ends up being quite good. From the limited video I saw, he appears to have many tools in his belt that allow him to be effective both inside the paint, and out on the perimeter. Looks to have some hops too. We'll soon see.

Gotta be honest, I'm not holding my breath on Kamara the 52nd pick in the draft

[JasonStern]

I think Ayton is gonna really like his new home here in Portland. Remember L&G, he's from the Bahamas, went to U of Arizona, and got drafted by the Phoenix Suns. Welcome to the great Northwest Big Fella.

But nobody here has even mentioned Toumani Camara, and I think he may become a very interesting player, once we finally get a chance to see what he can do. Considering the hiring of the Super-Agent by Cronin, I wouldn't be surprised if this kid ends up being quite good. From the limited video I saw, he appears to have many tools in his belt that allow him to be effective both inside the paint, and out on the perimeter. Looks to have some hops too. We'll soon see.

Gotta be honest, I'm not holding my breath on Kamara the 52nd pick in the draft

Same. Far more interested in Rayan Rupert, and there's an 80%+ chance he ends up being a total bust. But if he isn't... the elusive prototypical 3&D wing we've been missing since we traded Batum!

[DusterBuster]

I genuinely haven’t been this excited for a Blazers season in awhile. Love just having a totally brand new team of young guys who just don’t need to have any expectations and just having fun. Hope it stays this way even through the hard times, because this is the first time in awhile the team feels like it doesn’t have a weight on it.

Listened to Casey Holdal podcast where he interviewed Ayton. He mentioned multiple times how this team doesn’t have any egos and everyone feels supportive. Reading between the lines, you can definitely hear the words he’s not saying about how he felt about Phoenix. Basically always the young guy, vets with big egos (CP, Booker, Crowder, etc), fans upset at him, etc. He seems to genuinely be happy to be on a team where everyone is as old or younger than him and no ego / presence dominating the lockerroom. I’m huffing some hopeium on this one that Ayton may have a jump up season.

[PDXKnight]

I genuinely haven’t been this excited for a Blazers season in awhile. Love just having a totally brand new team of young guys who just don’t need to have any expectations and just having fun. Hope it stays this way even through the hard times, because this is the first time in awhile the team feels like it doesn’t have a weight on it.

Listened to Casey Holdal podcast where he interviewed Ayton. He mentioned multiple times how this team doesn’t have any egos and everyone feels supportive. Reading between the lines, you can definitely hear the words he’s not saying about how he felt about Phoenix. Basically always the young guy, vets with big egos (CP, Booker, Crowder, etc), fans upset at him, etc. He seems to genuinely be happy to be on a team where everyone is as old or younger than him and no ego / presence dominating the lockerroom. I’m huffing some hopeium on this one that Ayton may have a jump up season.

Young teams are pretty ideal for young(ish) players. Veterans tend to have the savvy but that can come with large egos. To be fair that respect is earned quite often but for someone like ayton portland really seems ideal for him to flourish as he doesn't have to deal with the extra pressure.

[Blazinaway]

I think Ayton is gonna really like his new home here in Portland. Remember L&G, he's from the Bahamas, went to U of Arizona, and got drafted by the Phoenix Suns. Welcome to the great Northwest Big Fella.

But nobody here has even mentioned Toumani Camara, and I think he may become a very interesting player, once we finally get a chance to see what he can do. Considering the hiring of the Super-Agent by Cronin, I wouldn't be surprised if this kid ends up being quite good. From the limited video I saw, he appears to have many tools in his belt that allow him to be effective both inside the paint, and out on the perimeter. Looks to have some hops too. We'll soon see.

Camara apparently is impressing on D, he's alreadt a good rebounder and if can make the 3 at a 35& or higher clip then we may have a player. I am higher on him than any of Jabari/Murray, its way early but don't sleep on him

[DusterBuster]

I think Ayton is gonna really like his new home here in Portland. Remember L&G, he's from the Bahamas, went to U of Arizona, and got drafted by the Phoenix Suns. Welcome to the great Northwest Big Fella.

But nobody here has even mentioned Toumani Camara, and I think he may become a very interesting player, once we finally get a chance to see what he can do. Considering the hiring of the Super-Agent by Cronin, I wouldn't be surprised if this kid ends up being quite good. From the limited video I saw, he appears to have many tools in his belt that allow him to be effective both inside the paint, and out on the perimeter. Looks to have some hops too. We'll soon see.

Camara apparently is impressing on D, he's alreadt a good rebounder and if can make the 3 at a 35& or higher clip then we may have a player. I am higher on him than any of Jabari/Murray, its way early but don't sleep on him

It’s nice the Blazers have so many new pieces, they don’t have to hype up a rookie as the coolest thing they have going next season *cough* Jaquez Heat *cough*

[bwgood77]

This will be an interesting experiment. Ayton had some ludicrously lazy plays in Phoenix, but he also really had a grudge against the Suns after the FO refused to pay him and made him get his money as a RFA, so he was purposefully dogging it imo.

Now we get to see if that changes with a team where he doesn’t have animosity towards. It worked with Nurkic after coming over from Denver (until injury), so it’s a total worthwhile swing for a 25yo #1 pick who has proven he’s not a bust.

Also the Suns made no secret they were entertaining trade requests for him from 2022 which was a constant source of distraction I'm sure.

At the very least Ayton is good for 20 and 10 on the season so he's going to be a huge upgrade for you guys compared to Nurkic.

I saw the mention of malcontent early. Ayton was always aa great guy, loved his teammates, etc, but I think CP3 wore on him and then the toxicity of the fanbase against him being the youngest player still developing, and on top of that his best friend Bridges was traded. He needed a fresh start. He had to deal with SO much negativity towards him this past year, and he was frustrating at times, but he took too much blame in my opinion. Ayton will be solid scoring, rebounding, a decent passer and fairly solid screener, but it will all come down to defense, if he can get back to where he was. I think fans will enjoy having a guy who can finish and hit shots from most places inside the arc. Nurkic had such a bad FG% inside. Nurkic was better at screening and passing, and 3 pt shooting this past year, and more toughness, but a lot of that comes with more experience.

[DusterBuster]

This will be an interesting experiment. Ayton had some ludicrously lazy plays in Phoenix, but he also really had a grudge against the Suns after the FO refused to pay him and made him get his money as a RFA, so he was purposefully dogging it imo.

Now we get to see if that changes with a team where he doesn’t have animosity towards. It worked with Nurkic after coming over from Denver (until injury), so it’s a total worthwhile swing for a 25yo #1 pick who has proven he’s not a bust.

Also the Suns made no secret they were entertaining trade requests for him from 2022 which was a constant source of distraction I'm sure.

At the very least Ayton is good for 20 and 10 on the season so he's going to be a huge upgrade for you guys compared to Nurkic.

I saw the mention of malcontent early. Ayton was always aa great guy, loved his teammates, etc, but I think CP3 wore on him and then the toxicity of the fanbase against him being the youngest player still developing, and on top of that his best friend Bridges was traded. He needed a fresh start. He had to deal with SO much negativity towards him this past year, and he was frustrating at times, but he took too much blame in my opinion. Ayton will be solid scoring, rebounding, a decent passer and fairly solid screener, but it will all come down to defense, if he can get back to where he was. I think fans will enjoy having a guy who can finish and hit shots from most places inside the arc. Nurkic had such a bad FG% inside. Nurkic was better at screening and passing, and 3 pt shooting this past year, and more toughness, but a lot of that comes with more experience.

Nurkic and toughness… uhhhhhh

[Pattycakes]

I think Ayton is gonna really like his new home here in Portland. Remember L&G, he's from the Bahamas, went to U of Arizona, and got drafted by the Phoenix Suns. Welcome to the great Northwest Big Fella.

But nobody here has even mentioned Toumani Camara, and I think he may become a very interesting player, once we finally get a chance to see what he can do. Considering the hiring of the Super-Agent by Cronin, I wouldn't be surprised if this kid ends up being quite good. From the limited video I saw, he appears to have many tools in his belt that allow him to be effective both inside the paint, and out on the perimeter. Looks to have some hops too. We'll soon see.

Camara apparently is impressing on D, he's alreadt a good rebounder and if can make the 3 at a 35& or higher clip then we may have a player. I am higher on him than any of Jabari/Murray, its way early but don't sleep on him

It’s nice the Blazers have so many new pieces, they don’t have to hype up a rookie as the coolest thing they have going next season *cough* Jaquez Heat *cough*

I’ll be honest fam. This entire offseason all I cared about was getting Jacquez. I was in the “screw all other assets if we can’t get him/Jovic” camp.

Funny enough we ended up with two better centers than Jovic and a much better overall outcome then a high energy rookie that may or may not be totally inefficient in the big league. I was wrong and I’m happy with the situation we’re in now.

[DusterBuster]

Camara apparently is impressing on D, he's alreadt a good rebounder and if can make the 3 at a 35& or higher clip then we may have a player. I am higher on him than any of Jabari/Murray, its way early but don't sleep on him

It’s nice the Blazers have so many new pieces, they don’t have to hype up a rookie as the coolest thing they have going next season *cough* Jaquez Heat *cough*

I’ll be honest fam. This entire offseason all I cared about was getting Jacquez. I was in the “screw all other assets if we can’t get him/Jovic” camp.

Funny enough we ended up with two better centers than Jovic and a much better overall outcome then a high energy rookie that may or may not be totally inefficient in the big league. I was wrong and I’m happy with the situation we’re in now.

Jacquez was a deal breaker for me. Any Miami deal where he wasn’t a part of it was going to be a total failure. From everything reported, he was never on the table. And I say that fully recognizing he could be a total and complete NBA bust. Jovic looks mid at best. Jacquez is just all potential and some 6 second camp clips. I still don’t think the Heat deal would have been good, but Jacquez was at least a sorta shiny object is a handful of dull objects the Heat could have offered.

Long way to say that I wish the best for him but I’m much happier with what the Blazers in the end.

[DeBlazerRiddem]

FWIW I think Jaquez was overdrafted.

He fit's perfectly into the Heat culture and their scheme so I don't want to say it was a bad pick, but for most teams Jaquez is a 4 year senior, a SG who lacks the athleticism or size to defend a wide variety of players, with little athletic or shooting/scoring upside. In essence a role player that you hope makes a difference because of their heady play. Those are a dime a dozen in terms of NBA draft prospects. He was part of a good defense and the Heat are able to find success with that type of player so good for them.

Hope I'm wrong simply because I like good NBA players but I had him as a second round pick and for me he wasn't even a consideration whether the Heat could offer us what we needed out of a Dame trade.