Blazers to Face Massive Decision on Young Star Next Summer

The Portland Trail Blazers have spent the last few seasons looking to accumulate young players and ones who could be potential superstars. They signaled a rebuild after trading away Damian Lillard a couple of seasons ago.

They now have Lillard back on the roster, but they are no closer to finding a superstar on their roster. They have a couple of young guards whom they believe in, but they still need to show star tendencies.

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One of those guards is Shaedon Sharpe. Sharpe was drafted with the seventh overall pick back in the 2022 NBA Draft after sitting out an entire season at Kentucky.

The Portland Trail Blazers have to make a decision on Shaedon Sharpe's future

Sharpe has improved over the course of those three seasons, but questions still remain if he can be a star shooting guard for years to come for this team.

Next season, Sharpe will enter restricted free agency. That means that the Blazers have to make a decision on whether to extend him and keep him as part of their core or let him walk.

They don't have to make that decision until the end of next season, so they can wait to see how he performs when he gets to start for an entire season.

There's an excellent chance that the Blazers sign him to an extension in the middle of the season. Sharpe's offensive game has improved steadily every year, although his 3-point shooting still needs some work.

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Sharpe has shown the ability to score at all three levels, but he needs to improve his consistency. Portland loves what he's shown when it comes to rebounding and his increased defensive intensity.

Of all of the decisions that the Blazers have to make on players in the next few years, this one should be relatively easy for them. Bringing him back is a pretty easy call.

The only question will be what kind of contract the Blazers are able to sign him to. They don't want to approach the luxury tax, especially if they aren't competing for a playoff spot.

This past season, Sharpe averaged 18.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 2.8 assists per game.

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