The Portland Trail Blazers have until the start of the 2025-26 regular season to make a decision on Shaedon Sharpe. HoopsHype's Michael Scotto reported in May that Sharpe and the Blazers were expected to discuss a contract extension. Portland has all 15 roster spots filled and only one two-way spot remaining, so deciding on Sharpe's rookie-scale extension should now be considered a top priority.
Shaedon Sharpe extension looms as Blazers face RFA dilemma
If Portland doesn't extend Sharpe before the season, he'll become a restricted free agent next summer. It's a tricky situation for general manager Joe Cronin to navigate. We're currently seeing how messy restricted free agency can get with the situations surrounding Cam Thomas, Josh Giddey, Quentin Grimes, and Jonathan Kuminga this offseason. The Blazers need to proactively avoid becoming the next team with an RFA nightmare on their hands.
They also don't want to overpay Sharpe. There are concerning parallels between the four notable RFAs this offseason and Sharpe's situation. He's a score-first guard who puts up solid stats, averaging 18.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 2.8 assists at just 22 years old. At the same time, he's not as impactful on winning as those stats might indicate.
Sharpe was Portland's second-worst defender last season from a defensive rating standpoint, with Chauncey Billups even benching him midseason because of his limitations on that end of the court. More concerningly, the Blazers were better off with Sharpe not in the starting unit, as that move by Billups catalyzed their midseason turnaround.
After seeing how last season played out, it's hard to confidently say that Sharpe is a building block going forward for the Blazers.
He has all the potential in the world, given his skillset and physical tools. Still, to extend him would be taking a leap of faith that he's able to put everything together and become a more consistent and impactful two-way player. If the Blazers buy that Sharpe will take a significant leap forward this season, it could be in their best interest to get ahead of his contract. There's risk associated with that move, especially considering Thomas just settled for a $6 million qualifying offer to stay with the Brooklyn Nets, showing how deflated the market currently is for score-first players.
There are pros and cons to extending Sharpe, and it's a challenging balancing act for Cronin. Do they invest in Sharpe upfront or let the market set his price?
We'll find out exactly where Portland stands by the start of the season.