5 Trail Blazers most affected by the 2023 NBA Draft Lottery
By Rowan Kent
Most Affected Trail Blazer #5: Shaedon Sharpe
As the season wound down, the possibility of Shaedon Sharpe having a prominent role on next year’s Trail Blazers team looked increasingly likely. He erupted down the stretch, looking like a player who could reach his ceiling much faster than many predicted.
The luck of grabbing the third pick in the lottery has only accelerated the timeline for Portland as a team, which puts Sharpe in the crosshairs. He had a great season, albeit one that peaked late, and now will be expected to pick up his pace to the point of being a positive contributor on a playoff team.
Over his last 10 games, Sharpe averaged almost 24 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 assists in a starring role. While it won’t be expected that he puts up those stats or continues to shoot 8 threes a game, keeping up the same type of production and scoring pop in a smaller role will be.
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What makes Sharpe one of the most affected Blazers is the lack of time he’ll get to make mistakes in his development heading into next year. Had the Blazers not had the resources to likely grab a star and make a playoff push, he’d have had less pressure. Now the heat is on for the young Canadian to capitalize on his star ceiling much sooner.