Trail Blazers make major decision on Shaedon Sharpe

The Trail Blazers have exercised their third-year team option on guard Shaedon Sharpe for the 2024-25 season, the team announced in a press release.

The move doesn’t affect Sharpe’s contract status for the coming season — his $6.3M salary for 2023-24 was already guaranteed. The option pick-up ensures that his $6.6M salary for the 2024-25 season is now locked in as well.

Sharpe, the seventh overall pick in the 2022 draft, is coming off a promising rookie season in which he averaged 9.9 points and 3.0 rebounds in 22.2 minutes per game and posted a .472/.360/.714 shooting line across 80 appearances (15 starts).

The 20-year-old expected to take on a bigger role in his second NBA season following the trade of Damian Lillard. Sharpe, Anfernee Simons, and this year’s No. 3 pick Scoot Henderson are viewed as Portland’s backcourt of the future, with Sharpe potentially sliding up to the three at times if the team wants to play the trio together.

The Blazers’ next contract decision on Sharpe will come a year from now — they’ll have until Oct. 31, 2024 to decide whether to exercise his $8.4M option for 2025-26. Assuming that option is picked up, Sharpe will become extension-eligible for the first time in the summer of 2025.

The rookie-scale team option decisions for 2024-25, due by Oct. 31, can be found right here.