[Trending News] Is Shaedon Sharpe Still the Trail Blazers’ Hope?

When the Portland Trail Blazers drafted Shaedon Sharpe seventh overall in the 2022 NBA Draft the high school product was an enigma. He had boundless athleticism and a nose for scoring, but lacked experience in organized, high-level play. He was the quintessential project player, a flyer on a star-in-waiting who had drawn loose comparisons to Kobe Bryant in skillset and potential impact on both sides of the floor.

Two and a half years on, Sharpe is progressing nicely, scoring 17.1 points per game on 44.3% shooting from the floor, playing 30.2 minutes. That’s certainly a decent return on investment for a mid-lottery pick. But is Sharpe still one of the great hopes for the franchise? That’s the subject of today’s Blazer’s Edge Mailbag.

Dear Dave,

Easy question hard answer maybe. Do you believe in Shaedon Sharpe? Beginning the season he was my breakout player and the best chance of developing into a real star we had. I’m beginning to doubt that though. What do you think? Could he still be big time?

Trey

People hate to hear this, but if waiting pays dividends with any Blazers player, it’s going to be Sharpe. We still haven’t seen him in full bloom. Consider him more like a center or point guard that way than a wing. He may need to get into his fifth season before we know what he’s truly capable of.

Most of that is because of his pre-NBA background, which frankly wasn’t much. Only Scoot Henderson rivaled Sharpe in stalled, confused plays during his first two seasons. That’s not a knock. It couldn’t have been any other way. Sharpe got into the league on the basis of athleticism and scoring potential. As he was learning the league, he had to ride the horse that brought him. Otherwise he wouldn’t have seen the floor at all.

The problem with leaping to the NBA is everybody is athletic. Sharpe still outshines the pack, but the margin isn’t as great. In high school, even in some college play, hyper-athleticism will get you wide open, shooting in empty space or screaming out in glee as you dunk the opponent into oblivion. In the pros, being athletic buys you maybe three inches and a few tenths of a second. Professional players are good enough to convert that space and time into decent attempts. (How many three pointers have you seen swish home that started their lives barely clearing the defender’s fingertips?) But when you’re used to three feet of space, three inches doesn’t seem like much.

That’s why we saw a fair amount of dribbling into frustration from Sharpe when he got the rock early on. He succeeded when catching and cutting down the baseline, but everything else was a dribble tattoo on the Moda Center floor. This year he seems more comfortable playing off-ball, also executing his moves quicker and to better effect. That part of his game, at least, has developed.

With the scoring settled, we get to the other questions. I have three major ones.

First, and probably least important, can Sharpe pass effectively? I don’t read him as a Jamal Crawford type, able to create offense from any position on the floor at any time. He’s more of a one-on-one, dominant scorer, able to convert in his lanes when left open or single-covered. Getting him open or single-covered will be the issue once he becomes a 20-point guy.

Sharpe has gotten into a bit of a rut. He tends to get the ball at the end of possessions, either by the shot clock or his own proclivities. If he catches it, he’s probably going to take the shot. This allows defenses to key in on him. It’s gotten routine enough that you can watch his teammates stop moving after he gets the ball.

Becoming a passing threat would help the process significantly. If defenders have to play up, then sag back on him to shut off passing lanes or cover other players, that’s going to give him the space he needs for that first dribble and subsequent burning. It’s going to take effort on his part. He’ll also need teammates who can score consistently. Both of those are works in progress.

The three-point shot is the second concern. His percentage has dropped from 36.0% his first season to 33.3% his second to 30.9% this year. He’s taking more threes and hitting fewer. Part of that is the difference between having to set up his own shot now versus playing off of Damian Lillard a couple years ago. But that’s not going to change. If Sharpe can’t make defenders worry about his shooting ability, he’ll re-create the no-passing issue, just in a different way. He’ll get a first dribble against defenders playing off of him but not a second.

The final factor is the one Head Coach Chauncey Billups has already identified: defense. The coach sent Sharpe to the bench mid-season for this reason. To my eyes, it looks like his defensive efforts have improved, but there’s a huge difference between defending second-line players and starters. His flaws may be hidden rather than eliminated. It’s worth remembering that the Kobe comparisons came because of Sharpe’s potential as a two-way star. If he scores 22 but can’t defend anybody, he becomes someone you have to compensate for in the starting lineup instead of a pillar thereof.

Those are the factors I’m watching over the next couple of seasons as Sharpe moves towards his next contract. He’s not cemented into the player he is now. He has shown growth in certain areas. Keep the oven on and the cake baking and let’s see if we can frost it in his fourth and fifth year.

Thanks for the question! You can send yours in to blazersub@gmail.com and we’ll try to answer as many as we can!