The Portland Trail Blazers haven’t been a very good team over the last three seasons. In 2023-24, their 21-61 record was tied for the second-worst in franchise history. While Portland traded for Deni Avdija from the Washington Wizards and selected center Donovan Clingan with the seventh overall pick in this year’s draft, very few have the Trail Blazers projected to even reach the Play-In Tournament. Head coach Chauncey Billups is seen as a coach on the hot seat.
It now looks as if they will be without one of their young core pieces to start the upcoming season.
Trail Blazers Expected To Be Without Key Piece For 4-6 Weeks
Shoulder Injury To Sideline Sharpe
On the Trail Blazers X page, it was announced that shooting guard Shaedon Sharpe has suffered a small posterior lateral tear in his left shoulder. The injury is expected to sideline the 21-year-old for 4-6 weeks.
Shaedon Sharpe has suffered a small posterior labral tear in his left shoulder, an MRI confirmed this week.
Sharpe will begin rehabilitation and is expected to miss 4-6 weeks.— Portland Trail Blazers (@trailblazers) October 5, 2024
It certainly is a tough blow for Portland as the regular season is fast approaching. Their regular season opener is on October 23 in a home outing against the Golden State Warriors. Four weeks from today will be Portland’s seventh game of the season. If Sharpe were to miss six weeks, he would miss the Trail Blazers first 13 games of the regular season.
It was previously announced that Sharpe wouldn’t take part in Portland’s Fan Fest on Saturday due to a shoulder injury. Last season saw Sharpe miss a lot of action for Portland due to injury. The six-foot-six guard only appeared in 32 games in 2023-24. His last outing was on January 11 as Sharpe missed the last 45 games of the season after undergoing abdominal surgery.
Entering His Third NBA Season
Sharpe will be entering his third season in the NBA. He was selected by the Trail Blazers with the seventh overall selection in the 2022 NBA Draft. Sharpe went to Kentucky but never played in a game for them.
In his rookie season of 2022-23, Sharpe played in 80 of 82 games for Portland. In 22.2 minutes per game, Sharpe posted averages of 9.9 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 1.2 assists. He shot 47.2% from the field, 36.0% from three-point range, and 71.4% from the foul line. His playing time and production increased after the All-Star break. Sharpe had the second-most votes of those who did not receive All-Rookie honors.
After starting just 15 games as a rookie, Sharpe was in the starting lineup for 25 of 32 outings in 2023-24. With his playing time increased to 33.1 minutes per contest, Sharpe finished with averages of 15.9 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 2.9 assists. With increased responsibility came less efficient scoring, as he shot 40.6% from the field and 33.3% from beyond the arc (did improve his free-throw accuracy to 82.4%).
While Sharpe was mostly utilized as a starter last season, it was unclear if he would start this season in that role. The trade for Avdija led many to believe he would become the team’s starting small forward. Anfernee Simons was out for over a month at the start of last season which helped slide Sharpe into a starting role. Simons will likely share the backcourt with 2023 third overall pick Scoot Henderson. Avdija is expected to share the frontcourt with Jerami Grant and Deandre Ayton to begin the season.
