One of the most important factors for the future of the Portland Trail Blazers is the development of guard Shaedon Sharpe. Sharpe will enter his third season in the NBA after Portland selected him with the No. 7 pick in the 2022 NBA Draft.

Sharpe improved his game a lot last season, which gives the Trail Blazers the opportunity to think about trading guard Anfernee Simons. The young guard has two years of club supervision left before he enters restricted free agent status, but the Trail Blazers have to think about how to handle his future.

Portland would likely have to pay Sharpe upwards of $200 million to keep him long-term – a standard for NBA contracts these days. Teams across the NBA have been forced to give their players top-tier contract extensions to avoid losing talent for nothing on the open market.

The Trail Blazers could always try to trade Sharpe before reaching a contract extension, but he appears to be part of the long-term plans. Last season, Sharpe averaged 15.9 points, 5.0 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game in 32 games.

The biggest criticism of Sharpe last season was his decline in three-point shooting percentage. He shot 33.3 percent from beyond the three-point line, a slight decline from the 36.0 percent he shot in his rookie season.

For the Trail Blazers to retain Sharpe long-term, he will need to show them more next season. He had some highs early in his career, but injuries and at times inefficient offenses have hurt him.

His athleticism on both ends of the court has the Trail Blazers excited for next year. Alongside Scoot Henderson, Sharpe is expected to be a key player in the backcourt for Portland.

He showed some strong defensive skills last season and will need to improve those even further to really make an impact. Sharpe will get the playing time he needs to showcase his talent, so if he falters this season he will have no one to blame but himself.

Sharpe is on the verge of becoming a rising star in the NBA, but his play this season will make all the difference. Portland is betting big on him, so it’s a case of go or shut up for the young guard.

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