5 takeaways from Vegas as Phoenix Suns rookie Toumani Camara closes NBA Summer League with 20 and 10

Phoenix Suns ended NBA Summer League with an impressive 102-79 victory Saturday over Memphis Grizzlies at Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas.

Rookie Toumani Camara led the Suns (2-3) with a double-double of 20 points and 10 rebounds while Hunter Hale added 16 points, hitting 4-of-6 from 3.

Tarik Biberovic and Aminu Mohammed each scored 13 points to pace the Grizzlies (2-3).

Here are five takeaways from the Suns' five-game run in Vegas.

Toumani Camara is a player

NBA TV’s Sam Mitchell said teams may have “missed the boat” not drafting the forward out of Dayton as Camara was taken in the second round (52^nd overall) in the 2023 draft.

At 6-8, 220, he has an NBA body. Averaging 16.2 points on 46.5% shooting (3-of-14 from deep) and seven rebounds in his four summer league games, Camara dunked on 7-foot-6 Tacko Fall, finished around the basket, got on the offensive glass and made defensive plays.

Camara didn't knock down 3s at a high clip, but his form looked good and he adjusted throughout summer league.

After his 20-point debut against the Bucks, he faced a more physical style of play against the Heat. Camara only managed 11 points and had six turnovers versus Miami.

Camara didn’t play in Phoenix’s third game, but he cut his turnovers in half for the fourth game against Utah Jazz.

The lefty forward, who can drive and finish with his right, handled the physicality better in the latter games, too, as evidenced of him playing through contact to get to the line Saturday (11-of-12 free throws).

Don’t be surprised if Camara makes one of the two All-Summer League teams.

Now he was being asked to pretty much do everything in summer league. Plays were being called for him.

That won’t be the case if he plays for the Suns during the regular season, but he’ll be asked to play with energy, be active, defend and hit open shots.

Camara handled those roles well in Vegas.

Jordan Goodwin showed enough in a quarter

He probably didn’t have to play in Vegas, but Jordan Goodwin wanted to do so.

Goodwin proved that in the first quarter of Phoenix’s first game in scoring eight points on 4-of-4 shooting in seven minutes. Hitting his only 3-point attempt, Goodwin had two assists, zero turnovers and had command of the team.

Then he took a hit in the second quarter that led to left knee soreness.

Goodwin didn’t play in the final four games in Vegas. The Suns shut him down as a precaution as he wasn’t even wearing a sleeve or anything on it watching the games from the bench.

Coming to Phoenix in the blockbuster Bradley Beal deal, Goodwin defends, rebounds and plays tough, but he’ll need to create shots for others to contribute.

Goodwin has played point guard, but he averaged just 2.7 assists last season with the Wizards.

The Suns are trading Cameron Payne, a second-round pick and cash to the Spurs for a protected second-round pick that includes a $6.5-million trade exception, sources confirm to The Republic. It's a move that suggests they have confidence Goodwin can play the role of a backup point guard.

Goodwin showed in the first half of his only action in Vegas he can run a team in delivering 11 points, four assists and zero turnovers.

It would’ve been interesting to see if Goodwin could continue to do that for a couple more summer league games, but Goodwin proved in one half he didn’t need summer league to prove he can contribute this season.

Future Suns two-way player?

Trey Jemison is raw offensively, foul prone, but he’s well put together at 6-11, 260 pounds.

This dude is a man. Very strong, physical and enjoys playing that way. He averaged eight points on 60.7% shooting and 6.8 rebounds in five summer league games.

The Suns have already re-signed Saben Lee to a two-way deal, but NBA teams can now have three two-way players.

Jemison would be an interesting one.

He’s not a scorer, but Jemison can finish around the basket. Jemison would provide a physical challenge to Deandre Ayton in practice.

The Suns have four bigs right now in Drew Eubanks, Chimezie Metu, Bol Bol and Ayton. Sources confirmed Sunday to The Republic the Suns have agreed to a one-year deal with the 7-footer Bol Bol.

Even with Bol Bol, Jemison could serve as an emergency big who would serve as an important practice player who has major upside.

Bonding

Vegas is an ideal place for NBA Summer League even when it’s 115 degrees.

It’s a fun city. People love to go there and enjoy themselves.

That leads to deals getting done and opportunities for new teammates to spend some time together.

So new Suns players Eric Gordon, Keita Bates-Diop and Beal were able to meet up with their teammates at the games. Gordon and Bates-Diop worked out together in Vegas.

The coaches hung out with front office in a relaxing setting. Suns team owner Mat Ishbia came out for owners meetings, but he also sat courtside at one of the summer league games Tuesday and talked with new head coach Frank Vogel and president of basketball operations and general manager, James Jones.

Those interactions may seem small, but they’re important to building relationships.

Final game

The Suns bounced back after losing a winnable game Friday against Utah to pull away the from Grizzlies in the fourth quarter after spending more than a week in Phoenix.

They could’ve easily shut it down in the second of a back-to-back in their final game, but the Suns didn’t.

Suns assistant coach Quinton Crawford served as head coach of the summer league team. He had film sessions after practice to show the players what it’s like to play for an NBA team.

At age 32, Crawford is on track to becoming an NBA head coach. He took this assignment to better prepare himself for when the head coaching opportunity presents itself to him.

The Suns didn’t finish with a winning record, but Crawford got them ready for that final game and they delivered with a strong closing to their time in Vegas.

Have opinion about current state of the Suns? Reach Suns Insider Duane Rankin at dmrankin@gannett.com or contact him at 480-787-1240. Follow him on Twitter at @DuaneRankin.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: 5 takeaways from Vegas as Phoenix Suns cap NBA Summer League with 102-79 victory