Portland Trail Blazers guard Shaedon Sharpe is going into the All-Star break with a tricky injury.
Sharpe has missed the last three games for the Blazers and is expected to miss a fourth against the division rival Utah Jazz with a calf injury, but the ailment has evolved since he first landed on the report a week ago.
Sharpe originally was missing games due to calf soreness, but before the team’s latest contest against the Minnesota Timberwolves, the description changed to a calf strain, which could mean a longer absence for the fourth-year guard.
Portland Trail Blazers guard Shaedon Sharpe shoots the ball over Phoenix Suns guard Grayson Allen. | Jaime Valdez-Imagn Images
Sharpe Injury Could Be Serious For Blazers
Calf strains have been popping up frequently this season around the NBA and teams have been extremely cautious about it because it could be linked to the Achilles.
Sharpe, 22, is enjoying the best season of his career so far by averaging 21.4 points and 4.4 rebounds per game. He is also shooting 34 percent from beyond the arc, which is an improvement from a year ago.
Sharpe signed an extension in the offseason that will keep him with the Blazers until the 2029-30 campaign, so he has already established himself as a long-term member of the team. Because of this, they need to make sure he is fully healthy and that this doesn’t turn into a lingering issue.
“The good news with Shaedon is that I don’t think it has to be one or the other because his deal. Yes, it’s extended all the way through 2030, but he’s going to be making 12-13% of the cap during that run. You would love that to be starter money, and you would for him to emerge into being a starter in that window because you would be getting a real discount on him being the starter if that was the case,” The Athletic’s Sam Vecenie said on The Game Theory podcast.
“I still have questions, but I think you continue along Shaedon because of the flexibility that the contract grants you. There’s no reason to give up on Shaedon right now. Because if he’s a sixth man, that’s fine, given the money he’s set to make for the next four years. If he’s a real starter, it’s a bargain.”
Sharpe will be on the sidelines when the Blazers take on the Jazz at 6 p.m. PT inside the Delta Center.
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