Toumani Camara's extension will haunt Phoenix Suns' forever

The Phoenix Suns have entered into what they hope will be a quick and seamless rebuild, and the early returns on the roster overhaul have been promising. Rookies Khaman Maluach, Koby Brea and Rasheer Fleming have already shown flashes during preseason, while many out there are predicting the Suns actually surprise a few people with how many games they will win.

It is clear head coach Jordan Ott is building a new defensive identity, and he already has buy-in from the likes of Dillon Brooks and Collin Gillespie. If there is one player across the entire league who would fit both their new timeline and also personify that defensive culture, it is a guy they gave away in Toumani Camara.

Camara extension ensures he will continue to haunt Suns.

25-year-old Belgian stopper Camara - who in just his second season last year made the All-Defense second team - was recently rewarded for his stellar play with an extension by the Portland Trail Blazers. Four years, $82 million representing more than fair value for one of the best perimeter defenders in the league already.

We've languished the fact the Suns added him into the Deandre Ayton for Jusuf Nurkic trade in the past, and getting extended at this price point makes the decision to do so even worse. When Phoenix was trying to win it all, you could see the logic in moving on from Ayton at all costs, although in hindsight adding Nurkic at all was a disaster.

There's also a case to be made that having both Camara and Ryan Dunn last season could have helped the Suns to win more games. They certainly wouldn't have given up 117.7 points per game at the very least. Camara was more of a win-now prospect than the front office could ever have imagined, but he'd be the guy with the most upside in The Valley right now if he was still around.

Owner Mat Ishbia has not done a good job of identifying the kind of high end talent that is crucial for filling out the middle of a contending roster, preferring to sacrifice depth in pursuit of names such as Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal. Camara will continue to be the one that got away, and he has signed a team-friendly contract in Portland.

He is easily moveable if the Trail Blazers decide to go in a different direction, although doing so when Camara can already contribute so much defensively makes no sense. Really he could have been the next Mikal Bridges in The Valley, on the kind of deal that wouldn't have hampered their ability to build out their roster in future. What might have been.