The Portland Trail Blazers took the practice floor in Tualatin on Monday morning with just two more days to prepare for their regular-season opener against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday.
However, the talk of the town wasn’t about the Timberwolves; it was about what happened over the weekend. Toumani Camara and Shaedon Sharpe, two key young players in Portland’s rebuild, both inked big contract extensions on Sunday.
Camara signed a four-year, $82 million extension, and Sharpe signed a four-year, $90
million extension. Both contracts run through the 2029-30 season.
After practice, the new contract signees, along with head coach Chauncey Billups and rookie center Yang Hansen, spoke with reporters about the big news and other storylines. Here are seven quick hitters from the interviews.
- Billups said they celebrated the extensions for Camara and Sharpe at the start of practice. He called the extensions not only wins for the players, but markers that show the organization’s progress over recent seasons: “For us, these are wins. We’ve worked so hard to develop Shaedon and Toumani and Donovan [Clingan] and Scoot [Henderson] and these other guys. That’s what our seasons have been about. So you get to this point, and you say, ‘Man, it’s well worth it.‘”
- Billups also discussed how shoring up these contract extensions in the preseason can help a player’s psyche and boost team morale: “It just alleviates so much stress. There are so many things in an NBA season that provide stress to you. It’s one of those things you just get it out the way. You can really now focus on trying to be the best that you can be, helping the team the best that you can and not have the pressure of worrying about: ‘If I don’t play well, what can happen?‘”
- Camara showed off a beaming smile during Monday’s media availability, and he talked about how much the contract extension meant to him. However, in typical fashion, he wasn’t ready to rest on his laurels: “Celebrate [the moment]? No. I was just telling my people, I was ready to get in the gym yesterday. It makes me more hungry. It’s something that pushes me to be able to do more, and now I know where I’m gonna be.”
- Sharpe said his family were the first people he called to tell the news: “I had to let my mother know. Family. My grandparents were there. … They were excited. It’s life-changing money.”
- It was also a notable weekend for rookie Yang Hansen. He told media he passed his driver’s test on Sunday and bought a used BMW X5 to celebrate.
- Billups said Camara and Avdija both practiced fully on Monday, and he thinks they’ll be ready to go for Wednesday’s home opener. Camara also said he’s good to go.
- Billups said wing Matisse Thybulle and center Robert Williams III practiced fully on Monday with no restrictions.
