{"id":10098,"date":"2025-05-05T08:05:13","date_gmt":"2025-05-05T08:05:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/10098\/"},"modified":"2025-05-05T08:05:13","modified_gmt":"2025-05-05T08:05:13","slug":"shaedon-sharpes-slow-progress-could-set-the-blazers-back","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/10098\/","title":{"rendered":"Shaedon Sharpe\u2019s Slow Progress Could Set The Blazers Back"},"content":{"rendered":"

As Portland\u2019s rebuild unfolds, the team must make tough decisions. Shaedon Sharpe<\/a>\u2018s slow progress is worse than many expected, which does not bode well for the Blazers\u2019 long-term future. It is a tough predicament for Blazers fans because Sharpe is talented. However, the struggles might outweigh the positives if they keep happening in his fourth year.<\/p>\n

Shaedon Sharpe\u2019s Slow Progress Could Set The Blazers Back<\/p>\n

The Portland Trail Blazers are progressing well with their rebuild. They found foundational pieces like Toumani Camara<\/a>, Deni Avdija<\/a>, and Donovan Clingan<\/a> for the defensive spine. The offense might be an issue because they do not have that superstar yet.<\/p>\n

Blazers fans know elite offensive players due to their experience with Damian Lillard<\/a> as their best player for many years. Now, they need to trust in the development of\u00a0Sharpe and Scoot Henderson<\/a>. They have the ceiling, but their progress has not been as promising as most people expected.<\/p>\n

Sharpe\u2019s Development Must Happen In His Fourth Year<\/p>\n

Sharpe\u2019s raw average of 18.5 points per game should be promising. However, he is not playing to his potential peak with his shooting. He has been regressing with his three-point shooting<\/a>. Sharpe shot a promising 36% in his rookie year, but it has plummeted, reaching 31.1% in his third year.<\/p>\n

That is the issue with Sharpe\u2019s slow progress because the Blazers want more. Henderson had a promising year with his shooting<\/a>, which should continue progressing in his third year. If Sharpe aims to be a top star for Portland, he needs to step up and develop that jump shot.<\/p>\n

A worrying trend that Blazers fans have noticed is that Sharpe can be too lax. Shaedon has always had a reserved personality, but he must work hard to reach his peak. Trades could open up<\/a>, which means he could have more opportunities. People saw glimpses of that when head coach Chauncey Billups relegated him to the bench. A challenge always motivates him to perform better. He must do that to himself to progress as the star of Portland\u2019s rebuild.<\/p>\n

Sharpe\u2019s Ceiling Could Unlock The Blazers\u2019 Playoff Chances<\/p>\n

The lack of perimeter shooting can be frustrating because Sharpe has everything else. His athleticism is through the roof<\/a>, and he has significantly improved his ball-handling. Finishing at the rim is not an issue because he is quite efficient in the restricted area. With an improved three-point shot, he could become a dangerous offensive player. He already has a deep bag in the mid-range, so becoming a three-level scorer helps the Blazers\u2019 playoff hopes<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Blazers could cement themselves as one of the NBA\u2019s most promising teams in the 2025-26 season. They are in the ultra-competitive Western Conference, but a positive turn in Sharpe\u2019s progress could help. That is why Sharpe needs to continue improving. He will be 22 when the 25-26 campaign starts, so expectations are high. Sharpe will want a contract extension, so a promising campaign will only help him.<\/p>\n

Sharpe Has Coach Billups\u2019 Support<\/p>\n

Sharpe has only had one coach in his NBA career, Chauncey Billups. They are quite familiar with each other, so Billups knows how his player ticks. With limited obstacles ahead in the 2025-26 season, Sharpe has a big year ahead.<\/p>\n

Billups wants Sharpe to embrace being more aggressive<\/a> because he has all the tools to succeed. The reserved personality can be an issue because he tends to settle. With Billups\u2019 encouragement, that should not happen in future campaigns.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s the one thing I\u2019m always telling Shae. Just continue to stay aggressive, some nights you\u2019re going to be making, some you won\u2019t. Your aggressiveness allows other guys to get shots,\u201d Billups said<\/a> after a March 2025 game.<\/p>\n

With added aggression and an improved three-point shot, Sharpe\u2019s progress could make him one of the Western Conference\u2019s best guards. By doing that, Portland\u2019s rebuild could be complete, and they could compete in the playoffs.<\/p>\n

Photo credit: NBA: \u00a9 Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As Portland\u2019s rebuild unfolds, the team must make tough decisions. Shaedon Sharpe\u2018s slow progress is worse than many…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":10099,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3784],"tags":[7,601,2298,6,841,687,471,3967,4425,4426,1617],"class_list":{"0":"post-10098","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-portland-trail-blazers","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-blazers","10":"tag-chauncey-billups","11":"tag-nba","12":"tag-nba-western-conference","13":"tag-portland","14":"tag-portland-trail-blazers","15":"tag-portlandtrailblazers","16":"tag-scoot-henderson","17":"tag-shaedon-sharpe","18":"tag-trail-blazers"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/114454196006279853","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10098","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10098"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10098\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10099"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10098"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10098"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10098"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}