5 realistic predictions for the 2022 Portland Trail Blazers

4. Shaedon Sharpe finishes top-3 in Rookie of the Year voting

The Blazers had a solid 2022 off-season, adding veterans Jerami Grant and Gary Payton II, but it was with the No. 7 overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft that the team got perhaps it’s most promising young player, as they drafted 19-year old Shaedon Sharpe out of Kentucky, and he’s already providing major highlights. Sharpe possesses fantastic athleticism to go along with scoring on all three levels, and with Payton out to start the regular season, Sharpe, along with young guard Keon Johnson are likely going to be tasked with sparking this team off the bench and leading the second unit.

There’s plenty of promising rookies from this class, with the likes of Jaden Ivey in Detroit, Paolo Banchero in Orlando and Keegan Murray in Sacramento all expected to be good right out of the gates, but Sharpe should be put right there in that category. He’s likely not going to start anytime in 2022 unless a major injury occurs, but if Shaedon can get 20-25 minutes as a spark off this bench, he’ll definitely be considered a leading candidate for Rookie of the Year in 2022.