Clippers trading Camby to Blazers
Los Angeles Clippers center Marcus Camby(notes) unknowingly attended his own farewell dinner on Monday night.
The Portland Trail Blazers have acquired Camby from the Clippers.
The deal was completed Tuesday morning.
The trade proposal, which was first reported by Yahoo! Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowski, sends Camby to Portland in exchange for forward Travis Outlaw(notes), guard Steve Blake(notes) and $3 million.
In town in advance of their Tuesday game against the Trail Blazers, the Clippers were having a team dinner at Portland’s Ringside steakhouse Monday night when Camby received a call on his cell phone from his agent, Rick Kaplan. Kaplan informed Camby that he would likely be traded to Portland.
After taking the call from Kaplan, Camby immediately walked out of the restaurant. A source close to Camby says that while he recognizes the benefits of playing for a better team, he is upset because his family is comfortably settled in Los Angeles. He had hoped to re-sign with the Clippers this summer.
“He likes the Clippers, he likes the organization, he likes L.A.,” the source said. “His wife is happy in L.A. And he’s not one for change. He’s definitely not happy about this.”
Camby also was similarly upset when the Denver Nuggets traded him to the Clippers before the start of last season. The Nuggets made an unsuccessful last-ditch attempt to bring back Camby before the Clippers' deal with the Blazers was finalized.
Camby isn’t the only one upset.
Said one Clipper: “All the guys are upset because our best defensive player got traded basically for a backup point guard and money.”
Outlaw, 25, played in 11 games this season before breaking his left foot, and the Clippers are unsure when he’ll play again. Blake, 29, is averaging 7.6 points and four assists in 51 games.
The Blazers have been searching for some inside help to deflect the blow of losing centers Greg Oden(notes) and Joel Przybilla(notes). Some in the league also believe Blazers general manager Kevin Pritchard wanted to clear the way for Jerryd Bayless(notes) to get more time in the backcourt with Andre Miller(notes).
The Clippers, meanwhile, also have been shopping forward Al Thornton(notes), who was meeting with his agent Monday in Portland.
Camby, 35, is averaging 7.7 points and 12.1 rebounds for the Clippers. He is making $9.1 million this season in the final year of his contract. Just last week, he told Yahoo! Sports he hoped the Clippers wouldn’t trade him.
“It feels good to be a wanted man, but I like it here,” Camby said.
Camby left the restaurant without most of his teammates getting a chance to tell him goodbye. He is not believed to have finished his meal.
Yahoo! Sports NBA columnist Adrian Wojnarowski contributed to this report.
