Point guards have been the talk of the 2026 NBA Offseason for the Portland Trail Blazers. In their biggest move of the summer, the Blazers traded for Memphis Grizzlies point guard Ja Morant. Veteran Damian Lillard is expected to return to Portland’s lineup this fall following extended injury rehab. Jrue Holiday was one of the best players on the roster last season. Scoot Henderson is waiting in the wings during his fourth NBA season. The Blazers have point guards coming out of their ears and spilling
over on the hardwood.
All of this buzz threatens to obscure the highest-scoring guard for the Blazers last season, five-year veteran Shaedon Sharpe. Sharpe averaged 20.8 points per game over 50 appearances in 2025-26, a scoring rate only bested by leading star Deni Avdija. But Sharpe is assumed to be threatened from below by the point guard overflow, pinched from above by Avdija himself. Is there any chance of him getting muscled out of the lineup? That’s the subject of today’s Blazer’s Edge Mailbag question.
Dave,
Shaedon Sharpe is into his extension contract now. He’s making big boy money on a playoff team. Is it time for him to have bigger expectations too? What do you need to see for him to be the player we hoped since he was drafted? Are there any more training seasons left for him or is this go time or trade time?
Gray
At least two of the items on his checklist have remained for a couple seasons now.
First, and most obviously, I’d love to see his 33.7% three-point percentage rise north of 35%. This is going to be particularly important since other people are going to be carrying the ball more. Sharpe needs at least a little catch-and-shoot game in his arsenal now, to spread the floor for others when he’s not penetrating.
Second, the Blazers will want to see from Shaedon what every coach has wanted: more consistent defense. Sharpe took advantage of Portland’s pressuring, opportunistic defense last season, raising his steals to 1.4 per game, 2.3 per 100 possessions. That’s a large and welcome jump. But there’s no guaranteed Head Coach Micah Nori is going to continue with the high-octane style. Sharpe’s individual, positional, ground-level defense still needs some work. The same hesitancy (or maybe lack of quick-twitch lateral mobility) that keeps him from shaking free of defenders on the offensive end appears to hamper him when he’s trying to guard opponents. I’m not sure if this is a familiarity/experience issue, mental, or just inherent to his physical game, but the gap between where he is and the ideal vision for him remains.
I had a toss-up on the third item on Sharpe’s to-do list. I really wanted to piggyback on the point we just made and say he needs to learn how to get past defenders into the lane (or at least for a solid pull-up midrange). This would echo concerns expressed in previous years. But honestly, I’ve got to go with turnovers. Sharpe’s usage rate went from 25% to 30% last year, a 20% increase. But his turnovers per 100 possessions jumped from 3.2 to 4.8. a 50% increase. The per-game turnover number only went from 2.1 to 2.9, which seems like a small amount, disguising the issue. It’s bigger than that. If Sharpe isn’t hitting threes, isn’t getting to the rim enough, and is turning over the ball more, his per-game scoring increase has much less impact. He becomes an analytics nightmare. Some of his advanced numbers are already reflecting that reality.
Distance shooting, defense, and curbing turnovers. Even modest increases in those three things will turn Sharpe into a garden-variety 20-point scorer (which, admittedly, is still impressive) into a shooting guard whose spot is safe no matter how many teammates come nipping at his heels.
Do you agree with the assessment? Do you think Sharpe can pull it off? Share your thoughts in the comments section below. And if you want to send in your own Mailbag question, the address is blazersub@gmail.com!
