The Suns miss the former player they just traded away more than ever

The Phoenix Suns have lost four games in a row — and with Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal out with calf strains — that seems like a number that could get even bigger. This team is better than last season, but without Durant closing out games, the Suns continue to lose close games.

A bright spot in this run has been the play of the organization’s two newcomers, Ryan Dunn and Oso Ighodaro. Although too much is currently expected of them, it is frightening to imagine where this group would be without their influence on both sides of the court. Both players start with this Magic loss.

That would be second-year winger Toumani Camara, who continues to look like he has a place in this league for years to come. He was thrown into the Jusuf Nurkic and Grayson Allen deal for Deandre Ayton last summer without ever playing for the Suns. Camara made a few Summer League appearances with the team, and he impressed defensively in those competitions.

He’s started all 14 games for the Portland Trail Blazers so far this season, and at 6-8, they’re lively most nights. When you compare Camara’s engine – particularly on defense – to former secondary Scoot Henderson, for example, it’s not hard to see why the Suns would like him right now.

Camara has improved statistically across the board, sitting at up to 31.4 minutes per night. He’s not as big as Dunn – and he might not even end up being as good a defender – but at this point he’s less raw and more comfortable guarding elite wingers of similar stature. Every winning team needs a guy like Camara, and the Trail Blazers benefit from that.

Right now, the biggest aspect of Camara’s game that the Suns are missing – and that Dunn did well earlier in the season – is his 3-point shooting. A sizzling 43.5 percent on 3.3 attempts per night, which is even more impressive considering he’s playing for a rebuilding group. Imagine the damage Camara could do to the Suns’ system under Mike Budenholzer.

Things get even worse from the Suns’ perspective, as Camara also currently ranks third in the entire league in steals per game. An impressive 1.9 per game shows how devastating he can be in his opponents’ passing lanes. We have too much statistical data to prove that steals don’t equate to a solid defensive IQ and game – but if you’ve seen Camara, you know he’s got that too.

How great would it be if Camara was in the starting lineup now and Dunn supported him from the bench. Better yet, if the Suns are fully healthy, the prospect of Camara and Dunn playing together would terrify opponents. Fantastic defense and the likelihood of one of them having a good shot even from distance is pretty high.

We’ll never know if Toumani Camara had to be a throw-in as part of the Ayton for Nurkic/Allen deal, but the Suns could use him now more than ever. They’re relying too heavily on two rookies as it is, and there’s no doubt that Camara could have more comfortably slipped into a larger role while players were out injured, like he did with the Portland Trail Blazers.