The revamped Portland Trail Blazers have a new offensive hierarchy compared to last season. Deni Avdija remains the focal point, but is now surrounded by secondary playmakers Ja Morant and Damian Lillard in the backcourt.
Their 2-0 start to the season is a small sample size, but we're already seeing an offensive upgrade from last season. Last year the top three players in terms of usage percentage for the Blazers were Shaedon Sharpe (30.5), Avdija (29.1), and Scoot Henderson (24.9).
That backcourt upgrade has already made all the difference in this offense for Portland. And while that's a great thing in the short term, it does raise further concerns regarding whether Sharpe and Henderson actually fit into the equation in the long term.
GM Joe Cronin faces tough decisions with Scoot and Sharpe
Between their two young guards, Henderson's future is the one that they'll be forced to decide on first. Henderson and Portland didn't reach a rookie-scale extension before the season, meaning he's set to hit restricted free agency next summer.
What happens if a rebuilding team with projected cap space like the Brooklyn Nets or Chicago Bulls run up his price? That's at least possible given his draft pedigree as a former No. 3 overall pick. Scoot had high highs and low lows in their playoff series against the Spurs, so the likelihood of a team breaking the piggy bank for him heavily depends on how this season plays out.
Meanwhile, the Blazers have Sharpe locked up through the 2029-30 season after reaching a four-year, $90 million extension the summer prior. However, he's likely a worse fit for this roster as Henderson has developed into the more impactful 3-and-D type guard.
That raises concerns about the scalability of Sharpe's role. And while the contract isn't horrible value given his upside, he could benefit from a change of scenery when it comes to actually unlocking that potential -- where he's more of that focal point of the offense again.
There's no guarantee this Morant-Lillard backcourt is here to stay. Both have deals that expire after the 2027-28 season, while Lillard is already 36. But what is apparent is that the Blazers needed an offensive upgrade in the backcourt.
Seeing how drastic of an upgrade it's been going from Henderson-Sharpe to Lillard-Morant is both encouraging for this season and discouraging for the future fit of Portland's former top ten picks. Blazers general manager Joe Cronin faces some tough decisions when it comes to potentially moving on from Henderson and/or Sharpe for good. But at least this is the most exciting men's basketball we've seen in Portland for quite some time.
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