Sources: Blazers trade Outlaw and Blake for Marcus Camby

**NOTE: Trade now official :NOTE**

Earlier in the night we reported the Los Angeles Clippers and Portland Trail Blazers were close to agreeing to a deal that would send PF/C Marcus Camby to the Blazers in exchange for Steve Blake and Travis Outlaw.

ESPN's Ric Bucher and Chad Ford have reported that the trade is now a done deal, although it still needs approval from both team's respective owners.

Camby is averaging just over 7 points and 12 rebounds through 51 games this season. His $9 million contract will expire at the end of this season, as will Blake and Outlaw's contracts.

Although the Blazers would lose Blake, who came into the season as the team's starting PG, and Outlaw, who is close friends with star SG Brandon Roy, the team would be adding another high character man who will continue to help the Blazers' completely remove the scarred image left from the "Jailblazer Era."

Marcus is well known among basketball fans as a community-oriented player, as he's been awarded numerous citations for his good work through multiple foundations.

The deal would also clear up the guard and forward positions for the remainder of the season. Instead of attempting to rotate four point guards, Bayless and Miller will split the PG minutes, while rookie Patty Mills may finally find NBA court time to prove himself. In addition, the small forward spot could rotate between Batum, Webster, and occasionally Rudy Fernandez. And most importantly, Juwan Howard will likely go back to being the first big man off the bench, clearing up the center position for Camby while loosening the load on both rookie forwards Jeff Pendergraph and Dante Cunningham.

Essentially, the trade would create more consistent playing time for Bayless, Miller, Fernandez, Batum and Webster. In this scenario, all the players listed would seem to gain a lot if this trade becomes official.

If both Camby and Portland develop a good relationship over the course of the season, the Blazers could possibly sign him at a discount to remain as the team's backup PF to give veteran Juwan Howard a break, who may not have much left in his tank for another full NBA season.

In any case, it appears, on paper, that the Portland Trail Blazers will be greatly improved by adding Camby in the short term. And it remains to be a very low-cost deal considering both teams simply swapped expiring contracts.